Neptune's Girl
by teardrop456
Summary: Neptune: A pompous,hawty, roman god of the sea who thinks he's a total heart throb. Terralyn: a spunky 2007 girl. With lots of laughter,tears and anger, something grows between them, but can they overcome impossible obstacles and learn to love?
1. Chapter 1

Neptune tapped his fingers on his throne. His blonde hair was swept back into a pony tale and his crisp blue eyes looked bored. His face was turned sideways, showing off his very sharply pointed nose and full lips. Dressed in what most mortals would consider an outlandishly gaudy outfit, he fit perfectly into a blue Shakespearian blouse with a silver vest and blue pants with silver embroidery. The throne he was sitting upon was gold and lavishly sculpted into the shape of waves, and the arm rests were dolphins carved out of the gold as well.

His court of otherworldly beings chattered around him. They were having a marvelous time: the merman and mermaids frolicked in the sea around the island. The water nymphs danced gracefully on the beach. The sea monsters, including the kraken, floated as close to the island as they could. The wave walkers ran in on the waves and onto the shore, shouting with excitement and delight. If one where to look on this gathering, one would say it was a party of some kind. But it really was not. This was an everyday occurrence for Neptune and his subjects. And frankly, Neptune was bored of it all.

He snapped his fingers. Immediately his only mortal servant, who went by the name of Pete, appeared at his side. He was an old, trusted servant of Neptune's.

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"I'm bored."

"Your Majesty?"

"I'm bored. It has been a century and a bit since I have had a nice mortal woman around here, has it not?"

"Yes, your Majesty."

"I think it's time to recruit a new one."

"Yes your majesty, but-"

"DARE YOU TO CONTRADICT ME?" Neptune's temper flared, and as his temper flared, he grew bigger and bigger, until his head almost touched the roof of his palace.

"No your majesty, but there might be some difficulties. You see, the world has changed greatly since you last took a mortal woman." Pete scratched his nearly bald head. "If you took a woman, depending on who she is, her family might make a fuss. Her picture would be in all the papers, on all televisions, and perhaps there would even be spies sent out to look for her. That is extreme, but it could happen, if you take the wrong kind of woman."

"Explain this to me." Neptune shrunk slowly down to size. He did not know much about the world outside of his island. In fact, none of his subjects knew what the mortal world was like, except for Pete who had lived as a mortal for the first fifty years of his life before he took a cruise. His ship had crashed, and Neptune had saved him upon a whim of his. Pete was the only person who knew what the mortal world was really like.

"Let us say that you capture a princess," Pete said. "Perhaps the country would think that another country kidnapped her, and then they went to war. Or, let us say that you take someone famously rich, like Paris Hilton. The whole world would be alerted of her disappearance."

"What kind of girl should I take then?"

"My advice, your Majesty, is to take no girl at all."

"THAT IS NOT YOUR BUSINESS." Neptune grew slightly, his cheeks flushed. He calmed down somewhat and shrunk a little. "Alright then. I will just have to take a nothing, non special girl; someone that no one will miss. She must be beautiful, of course," Pete struggled not to roll his eyes at this. "And she must be kind, loving, funny and willing to do anything I ask."

Pete nodded his head.

"I will find a girl such as this," he said. He left the room, lost in thought.

_I doubt there is a girl anywhere in this world like that._

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Terralyn leaned over the railing, letting the wind rush through her black hair. She was currently on a ship crossing over the Bermuda Triangle to visit her father. Although her mother had done everything in order to keep her from going, including telling her about all sorts of weird disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle and ghost stories and what not, she had been firm about her desire to spend the summer with her father.

After hearing the stories about the mysterious storms and disappearances in the Bermuda Triangle, Terralyn's first thought had been _"Nonsense."_ She acknowledged that there were plenty of storms which caused ships to sink and whatnot, but she refused to believe things like 'Ghost ships' and 'Ships vanishing in the fog without a trace'. So she boarded the ship without fear or doubt.

Her blue eyes scanned the waves, searching for dolphins. They had been jumping beside the ship when they had started off. Where had they gone?

Suddenly a shadow came over Terralyn's face, making her look up. Clouds covered the once perfectly blue sky, and the wind grew steadily stronger. The soft waves now turned into deadly looking white caps, and shouts could be heard from below decks; the captain was calling his full crew to man the ship.

A sailor passed her by, and paused a moment, telling her to get below deck, and then continued on. Terralyn did not go down to her room; below deck was the worst place to be if they crashed, instead, she hid herself between two metal boxes which were bolted to the deck. Within minutes rain came tearing down, striking the deck as if it were daggers. The ship rolled up and down sharply, as if it was a roller coaster. Terralyn clutched onto a metal pipe close to the metal boxes. Waves washed up on board, smashing down on everything and everyone. The sailors fought to lower the sail, but the wind was too strong. Terralyn heard a sickening snap and watched in horror as the mast fell down, smashing into the deck and straight through the ship.

"_SHIT." _She thought, as more and more water began to flood the small ship. "_Shit. I'm going to die." _The wind whipped her hair savagely across her face, getting into her eyes. She wished she had gone to her room and grabbed her life jacket. Looking down at the water, she somehow doubted a life jacket would help. She closed her eyes and hung onto the rail for dear life, and did the only thing she could think of; she prayer to god.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

God, in this case, was Neptune. He was the closest to her at the time; he was out on the sea, walking along the waves with his trusty servant Pete. Pete was the first to hear her cry of help.

"Do you hear that, Majesty? Someone is calling for you."

"Well, go take a look. If it is that important, send for me." He waved his hand nonchalantly. "Those mortals are so finicky. Sometimes they want our help, and sometimes they don't, and sometimes," he looked appalled. "They use our name for swear words."

"Yes, but you normally only hear calls for desperate help," Pete pointed out. Neptune continued to walk along the waves.

"Go see if this person really needs my help. Then call for me." He snapped his fingers and Pete disappeared, reappearing on the deck of Terralyn's ship.

Pete grabbed onto the railing with all his might, and looked around, horrified. The sea was ripping the ship to shreds, and the wind was drowning out the frantic yells and shouts as people were tossed overboard. Waves crashed over the ship savagely, soaking Pete within seconds upon arrival. Pete had seen some storms out at sea, but never any so nasty as this one.

Despite all the wind and rain, Pete managed to spot the girl who had called out desperately for help. He got onto his hands and knees and crawled towards her, managing to grab hold of the metal pipe before another wave crashed over them. Terralyn coughed and spluttered, but kept her eyes tightly shut as she continued to pray. In Pete's mind he could hear her words clearly.

"Please god. Take me away from here. I promise to be good. I promise not to swear. I'll give all my money to charity. I'll always tell the truth. I'll always tell my parents that I love them. I'll do anything. Please god, save me."

Pete reached over and laid his hand on her shoulder. Her eyes flew open, and Pete found himself looking in the most beautiful blue eyes he'd ever seen. Another wave crashed down on them, causing them both to cough and shut their eyes tightly.

"DO YOU WANT TO GO AWAY FROM HERE?" Pete shouted.

"WHAT?" Terralyn screamed.

"I SAID DO YOU WANT TO GO AWAY FROM HERE?"

"MORE THAN ANYTHING!"

In his mind, he said: _"Neptune. She needs you."_

In a flash they were gone from the ship and back on the waves. Neptune held a fainted Terralyn in his arms, looking down on her with an intense, puzzled expression.

"This is not a girl," he said. "You said '_she_ needs you' this is not a _she._"

"I beg your pardon?" then Pete realized why Neptune had said this. Pete began to laugh. Neptune grew outraged, growing bigger by the second.

"HOW DARE YOU LAUGH AT ME?"

Pete stopped laughing.

"Forgive me, you're Majesty. But, she is a girl. That is how girls dress in the mortal world."

"This is outrageous!" Neptune bellowed. "Not to mention indecent. How can a girl wear trousers? Men wear trousers!"

"Not anymore," Pete chuckled. Terralyn stirred softly, opening her blurry eyes. Most of her damp hair lay over her face, and slowly she lifted her hand, pushing it back and looking around dazedly. She looked down at the arms that were supporting her, then up at Neptune, blinking in the harsh sunlight.

_She's beautiful._ Neptune thought, looking down at her fondly as if she were his pet. _If I can get her into some skirts, and maybe brush her hair, she will be the most beautiful woman of my court._

She looked up at him, perplexed, then down at the water. Neptune waited patiently for her to scream, which was what any normal maiden would do in this situation, but to his great surprise, she did not. She looked back up at him, and glared at him intensely.

"PUT ME DOWN OR I'LL BITE YOUR NOSE OFF!" she yelled.

Pete gasped and snatched the girl from Neptune's arms, which at that second, may have crushed the girl as he grew taller. Neptune's face flushed a deep red, and he opened his mouth to yell at her.

"Please, your majesty, don't." Pete said frantically. "She didn't know any better! She doesn't understand what's going on!"

"EXPLAIN IT TO HER THEN!" Neptune thundered. Terralyn continued to glare up at him from Pete's arms. Pete looked down at Terralyn. He tightened his arms, then let her drop from them. With a _thump_ she hit the waves, and stayed there, on top of the waves, as if they were a moving floor.

She scrambled up wards onto her feet, her eyes wide with alarm. She looked down at the waves, then at Pete, and then at the towering Neptune.

"What's going on?" she whispered. Pete gave Neptune a look. With a sigh, the god shrunk back down to size.

"You were about to die," Pete said. "The waves were going to destroy your boat. We heard your prayer, so Neptune saved you."

"Neptune?" Terralyn asked, confused. Pete inclined his head slightly towards the fidgeting Neptune. Terralyn's mouth formed an 'O', then she looked back down at the waves, watching as some fish swam below the surface.

"Whatever," she said. "This is just a dream anyway. Why not throw some gods into it?"

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME!" Neptune thundered, growing taller by the second. "THE ONLY REASON YOU ARE STILL STANDING IS BECAUSE OF ME!"

"Oh yah?" Terralyn stared up at the giant Neptune, not intimidated at all. "Proove it!"

Then she abruptly dropped into the water.

Terralyn thrashed around slightly, startled at the change of events in her 'dream'. She kicked her legs, pumping herself back to the surface, but her legs were tired. She herself was exhausted, and because she believed this to be a dream, she was not worried about drowning. She let herself sink down as she thought very clearly:

"_If this was real life, I'd be dead."_

Above the surface, Neptune stood, fuming at the insolence of the girl. Pete was yelling at him, and frantically waving his hands.

"IF SHE'S SO SMART, SHE CAN SWIM UP!" Neptune boomed.

"You're majesty! She doesn't believe this is real!" Pete said. "She's probably letting herself drown, thinking that she'll wake up and everything will be alright!"

"WHAT?!" Neptune boomed, and then he dove under the water, now completely normal size. He shaped his eyes like a fish, and searched the depths for any sign of the girl. He spotted her further down and swam faster, shaping his legs into a single fin. He grabbed the girl by the arm, and dragged her up to the surface, throwing her up in the air. He jumped out of the water and landed on his feet just in time to catch her.

"Well," Terralyn said, after coughing up water for a few minutes. "That was interesting."

Neptune brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"This is not a dream," he said quietly and firmly. "You are here because I decided to save you, and I expect you to be grateful for that."

"I am grateful," she said. "But I refuse to believe this isn't a dream. Now put me down."

"No," he said. "You are too weak to walk by yourself."

"I don't need help from anyone," she murmured, here eyes drooping. "Not anyone." Her ragged breathing evened out, and she fell into a deep sleep.

Neptune smiled down at her, and then turned to Pete.

"Shall we go back to the palace?"

"I believe so, your majesty." They set off across the waves, Pete slightly behind Neptune. Neptune looked down on Terralyn fondly every few minutes. Pete found this terribly amusing and chuckled quietly to himself.

"Why are you laughing?" Neptune asked, turning his head.

"Normally gods don't care about humans because they believe they are 'just mortals'."

"True, she is just a mortal," Neptune said. "But she is _my _mortal."

"You make her sound like a Barbie doll."

"What is a 'Barbie Doll'?"

"Never mind," Pete waved his hand. "Basically what I mean to say is that she might not appreciate you saying that she's 'yours'. For all you know she might have a boyfriend."

"Pfft. A boyfriend? Do not make me laugh! What is a mere mortal boy compared to me?!" Pete rolled his eyes but kept silent. After a few minutes, they reached the island.

Neptune opened the door telepathically and marched through the palace, up the main staircase and visualized a room he considered 'perfect' for Terralyn; the walls were pink and there was a white canopy bed with a rose-print cover in the center of the room. The carpet was pink, the chair and vanity was white, and the curtains were white. A pink door led out to a small balcony overlooking the ocean. He would have carved her name into the door, but he did not know her name. He laid her down on the bed and brushed the hair out of her eyes. She stirred slightly as he leaned down and kissed her forehead.

"I do not even know your name," he whispered.

"Terralyn," she said. "I'm Terralyn." She opened her eyes, and then let out a scream. "What are you doing in my bed?" she yelled. Neptune leaped up, looking disgruntled. She looked around the room and let out another scream.

"It's pink! God forbid, it's pink!" she yelled, covering her eyes with her hands. "I'm in a pink freakin' nightmare!"

"I-I-I BEG YOUR PARDON?" Neptune grew two inches. Terralyn kept ranting on and on, with her hands over her face, not paying any attention to what he said.

"-first I almost die on a ship, then I end up in some wacko dream where I'm walking on water like freakin' _Jesus_, and then I fall into the water and almost die, and then some guy lies down in bed with me! What is this, a backwards universe? Honestly-"

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME?" Neptune roared. Terralyn stopped ranting and looked up at Neptune, her eyes wide. "THE ONLY REASON YOU ARE ALIVE IS BECAUSE OF MY GENEROSITY!"

Terralyn said nothing for a moment. Neptune huffed a little, unable to find any words to continue his rant. Terralyn turned away from him abruptly.

"Fine, whatever!" Terralyn yelled. Then she threw herself under the covers, her back facing Neptune. Neptune paused a moment, bitterly confused. He was used to having people cower or grovel when he was angry. He shrunk a few inches with a huff, and then headed towards the door. He turned back to look at the bed, then he heard a soft, almost silent sound; faint sobbing. He approached the bed quietly and drew the covers up; only to have the covers yanked out of his arms as Terralyn pulled the covers back over her head.

"GO AWAY!" she sobbed. Now, normally this obscene command from a mere mortal would have made Neptune mad, but as it was, he could only feel sorry for Terralyn.

"Are you alright?" he whispered through the blankets near where he guessed her ear to be.

"I'm just tired," Terralyn said from under the covers.

"Perhaps this will cheer you up," he said. He lifted the covers off the bed gently. Terralyn was crunched into a ball with her face hidden in her arms. "Look!"

Terralyn looked up and let out a gasp of surprise; while she was hidden under the covers, Neptune had changed the room into a mermaid's paradise; the walls were sea blue with a blue carpet. The walls and tables were decorated with shells, and a hammock hung in the corner of the room. Her bed was now a white canopy with a vibrant blue cover decorated with paint seashell patterns.

Terralyn breathed a sigh of relief.

"So much better than the pink, though I don't like blue much either," she muttered. Neptune's pleased smile seemed to freeze on his face. "Kidding! Kidding!" Terralyn laughed, her tears forgotten. "I love blue!"

Neptune looked like he was about to explode with anger for a moment, then he looked at Terralyn's pleased face, and he calmed down.

"I am pleased that you like it," he said. "Now I should let you sleep."

"Sleep? How can I sleep after seeing this?!" She got up off the bed and twirled around. Neptune caught her by the waist and twirled with her. Terralyn let out a laugh as they swung around.

"Normally if a guy randomly grabbed me and started dancing I would be pretty mad," she pointed out, still dancing with him. "But since this is a dream, and I'm going to wake up soon, I really don't care."

"I am not just 'a guy'. I am Neptune, god of the sea," Neptune said. He slowed down and dipped Terralyn low, so her head was almost touching the floor. "And this is no dream. This," he leaned down so their lips were only an inch apart. "Is reality."

Terralyn gasped, and then burst out laughing.

"That was the lamest pick up line I've ever heard!" she laughed. This comment made Neptune extremely angry. He set her on her feet and grasped her by the shoulders. He shook her violently, his face turning purple.

"Let us get one thing straight, Miss Terralyn," Neptune said coldly, his voice as frigid as an iceberg. Terralyn's eyes widened in fear at his tone of voice. She had seen him get angry, but right now he was downright furious. "I am god here. If you annoy me, I will kill you without batting an eyelid. Show some respect, and remember that there are consequences to your actions."

He let her go suddenly and she fell to the ground. Neptune turned on his heel and strolled to the door.

"Go to bed," Neptune ordered. Then he slammed the door.

Terralyn picked herself up from the floor and shook herself slightly. She reached up and touched her shoulders; they were bruised.

"It's true," she said aloud. "This isn't a dream."

She lay down on the bed and drew the covers up to her chin.

Now that she had discovered that this was not a dream, she did not know if she was happy or not.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note: **how do you like it so far? Please review! Give it a rating, 1 being the lowest and 10 being the highest.


	2. Chapter 2

A soft breeze played across Terralyn's face, rustling her hair and the blankets on her bed. Her eyes fluttered open and widened as she took in the view of her new room. She rubbed her head and her eyes, blinking in the sunlight, and sat up.

With a groan she got out of bed and stumbled over to the washroom, almost smacking into a wall.

With a muffled curse, she swung the door open and stopped in the door frame, her eyes wide with surprise.

The washroom was the most expensive looking room in the palace she had seen yet- it had white walls, and all bathroom fixtures looked like they were made of pure gold. The gold bathtub was already filled with water, and Terralyn was delighted to see individual rosebuds floating around in the water. It was every girls dream.

Terralyn stripped off her clothes and without hesitation threw herself into the bath. She took a deep breath and then dunked herself under water, scrubbing at her hair furiously. She wanted to get all the sea salt off of her. Or maybe she was trying to wash away the memories of yesterday- she did not really know. She came up for air with a gasp and wiped the water out of her eyes. Then she turned on the water jets and bubbles began to foam up. With a laugh she rescued a rose from the water and stuck it in her wet hair.

Finally she got out of the bathtub and dried off. She wrapped the towel around herself and went back into her room. Her old clothes were useless- dirty and encrusted with sea salt- so what was she to wear? As this question crossed her mind, she spotted a dress that had been laid out across a chair across the room. She picked it up and looked it over critically. It was not that the dress was ugly; in fact it was quite beautiful with its turquoise color and faint silver embroidery. But it was a _dress._ Terralyn had never worn a dress in her life, and even if she would have, it would have been something sexy, probably a black number. This dress was long and very medieval; not exactly Terralyn's style, but it was the only item of clothing in the room. With a sigh, Terralyn slipped on the dress, and then put on the pair of turquoise sandals that were sitting on her vanity table. She looked at herself in the mirror.

_Who is this girl?_ She asked herself, staring at a fairy-like person with black hair and blue eyes that were emphasized by her turquoise gown. _This can't be me._

She turned away from the mirror and preceded to finger comb her wet hair. She tucked the rose back into her hair afterwards. Then went to open the door-

Only to find that the door was gone.

"What the-" Terralyn inspected all the walls, running her hand along them as if attempting to make the door appear at her touch. "There was a door here last night…"

She went out onto her balcony (which was thankfully still there), and searched for an escape route; stairs, anything really that could help her out of her room. But all there was was a small balcony with a firm wooden fence surrounding it.

_Is he keeping me prisoner here?_ She thought. _This is just stupid. What am I supposed to do all day? Stare at the ceiling???_ She tested the fence surrounding the balcony, but it was no use; the fence would not budge.

She paced the balcony impatiently, and once or twice she had to push a tree branch out of her way to avoid colliding with it.

_Stupid tree. _She thought. Then it hit her. _Wait a minute… There's a tree here!_ With a gleeful smile, Terralyn hiked up her dress and carefully stepped over the fence, and then onto the strong leafy branches of the tree.

"He is so stupid," she said to herself. "He put a tree here and he didn't expect me to climb it?!"

It was the perfect climbing tree to – it had strong branches that were thick enough to sit on. It was also an apple tree. _Another added bonus,_ Terralyn thought, as she picked an apple and ate it. _I haven't eaten since yesterday morning._

Terralyn scrambled down the tree with the apple hanging out of her mouth. When she reached the bottom, she took the apple and continued eating it as she walked leisurely around the courtyard. She was definitely in an exploring mood.

It was still hard for her to believe that all this was real- that Neptune was a real Roman god and that he had saved her from drowning in the very ocean waters he commanded. But as it was, Terralyn was not a girl to dwell on things, and so she chose to accept this new found information.

_Besides, there is a huge island and castle to explore. Who cares if it's real or not?_ Terralyn thought, pitching out her apple core. She wandered around the gardens for awhile. At first she tried to keep track of where she was. She gave the gardens names, such as _Rose Garden, Hummingbird Den, Fountain Garden,_ and so on. She always kept the palace in sight, but after awhile, she got lost.

She thought that the palace might be behind her, but the trees and bushes hid it from view, so it was hard to tell exactly where the palace was. Shaking her head frustratingly, Terralyn climbed the closest climbable tree and scanned the tops of the trees around her. The castle was indeed behind her, just as she had thought. She was about to climb down when she heard her name being called in the distance.

Curious, Terralyn peered down through the bushes, spotting a very bald Pete who was walking around the garden, very close to her tree. He was the one who was calling her name.

_Shoot. They know I've gone out. _

She kept quiet; the last thing she wanted to do was get into trouble, especially with a god. Eventually Pete stopped calling. He was now standing by a fountain fairly near Terralyn's tree, although he was not close enough to see the hidden girl.

"I can't find her anywhere, your Majesty." Pete said, apparently to thin air.

"WHAT?!" A voice roared. The fountain cracked neatly in half by the sheer force of Neptune's shout. "TERRALYN!" he yelled, appearing beside Pete. He was also huge, taller than the trees.

_Boy, he's mad._ Terralyn thought. She sat completely still in the tree. Her heart was pounding and her breathing was too loud for her ears.

Neptune's head snapped towards the tree, his eyes furious. _Shit! _ She thought. _He must have heard me breathing!_

His hand shot out and grabbed her from the tree. Although Neptune was furious, he did not hurt her, but he gripped her tight enough for her to be uncomfortable.

"I THOUGHT I ASKED YOU TO STAY IN YOUR ROOM!" he yelled. Terralyn looked up at him, her eyes flashing angrily.

"You never asked me," she said coolly. "I woke up- and the door was gone. What did you expect me to do?"

He looked stricken for a moment. What had he expected her to do? Had he expected her to burst into tears and beg him for forgiveness? Had he expected her to act like a damsel in distress?

"I- I suppose-" he looked down at the girl who's hair was wild and still wet, her dress torn and her hands and knees caked with dirt. "Oh never mind." He pouted and slowly grew smaller until he was able to set Terralyn down and look her in the eye. "Just do not run away again." He said crossly. He sounded like an overprotective kid brother.

"I wasn't running away," she said mildly. "I was exploring."

Neptune stared at her incredulously. _Exploring? Since when had women taken an interest in exploring?_ He thought, and then he smiled slowly. He glanced at Pete, and his eyes held a clear message: _go._ Pete melted away in the foliage, and made his way towards the castle.

"You are not like other women, are you, darling Terralyn?"

She sniffed. "What do you know," she said, turning away. "You don't know anything about me."

She walked over to the broken fountain and stared at it sadly.

"You didn't have to break it, you know," she muttered, trailing her fingers in the now very shallow water.

"But I do know some things about you," he whispered in her ear, making her jump. He had come up right behind her without her knowing. His arms went around her waist, and he pulled her close to him until her back hit his chest. "I know your name; I know that you like blue, and that you like climbing trees. I know that you like exploring, and that you do not like to show your true self to just anyone…

"I know that you are not easily shocked, or surprised or scared- though you seem to be easily angered." He chuckled slightly. She tried to pull away from him, but he just tightened his arms around her and kept talking. "I know that you find it hard to show some emotions…"

"What do you know?" she said, her cheeks flushing red. "You don't know anything at all! NOW LET ME GO!"

His breathe tickled her ear as he sighed loudly.

"Terralyn. You are trying to get me mad so I will not see your embarrassment," he teased, then his voice grew serious. "I already know this much about you after one day. Can you imagine how well we will get to know each other after a week? A month? A year?"

"I don't know anything about you," Terralyn said, trying to wiggle out of his grasp. His arms got so tight that she gave up trying to get free. "Although I do know one thing…"

"And what is that?" he whispered into her ear. She paused, debating whether to tell him or not. She decided she had to tell him.

"I know that you're a big flirt!" she exclaimed. She turned her head and caught the look on Neptune's face- completely shell shocked. She laughed uproariously. Tears of laughter coursed down her face. "I'm sorry," _Laughter._ "You should have seen your face!" _More laughter._ "Oh that made my day!" _Laughter._

His arms were still around her, and he flipped her around, pulling her close. His face was an inch from hers.

"I love you, Terralyn." He said solemnly. Then he leaned down and kissed her cheek, just missing her lips.

Now it was his turn to laugh- Terralyn looked not only shell shocked but embarrassed and a little bit intimidated as well. She stood there for a moment, completely dumbfounded, watching as Neptune doubled over in laughter. Then she gave a huff and turned away from him, strolling angrily and deliberately from the garden.

"Wait!" Neptune gasped, still bent over from laughing so hard. "Come back! 'Twas just a joke!"

"I don't care!" she yelled at him over her shoulder. "You're such a jerk!"

With a _thump_, Terralyn collided directly into Neptune's chest. He had appeared suddenly in front of her, directly in her path.

"Joker, I am," he said seriously. "But jerk, I am not." He bowed slightly, stepping away from Terralyn. From his hand, a rose bud appeared.

_The same one I put in my hair this morning,_ Terralyn thought. _I'm sure I dropped it somewhere… how on earth did he find that?_

"I shall see you at dinner, fair damsel. Until then, feel free to explore anywhere you wish… but do not go into the forest." Terralyn blinked. He was gone.

Suddenly, her exploring spirit died. All she wanted to do was go back to her room and try to sleep off her new found headache. _Every time he comes around I get a headache!_ She thought, rubbing her temples. _Maybe it's because he's such a jerk._

"Bloody gods," Terralyn muttered as she walked back to her room. "They think they can just meddle with everyone's life and get away with it! Hmph. We'll just _see_ about that, won't we?" she climbed back up the tree and into her room, just in time to hear a knock on her door.

_Yay! My door is back!_ She thought as she opened it. A very odd looking person stepped inside, carrying a huge black bag.

"Hi," she said. "I was sent to clean you up." Terralyn looked the creature up and down, taking in the blue, snakelike skin, green eyes, green hair and oily hands.

"No thanks," Terralyn said. "I already took a bath this morning."

The water nymph gave Terralyn a stern look.

"His majesty said I was to clean you up," the nymph said firmly. Then she opened her bag and pulled out her instruments of torture: lipstick, mascara, blush, glitter, hair rollers, hair pins, clips, gloves, glitter, soaps, shampoos, tweezers, material, scissors, sewing needles and sewing pins, and other various materials.

The nymph picked up the tweezers and advanced towards her, a grim vision of death for poor Terralyn.

"Now, let us get those eyebrows fixed."

"Anything but that!" she backed away from the nymph until she reached the balcony fence. "I don't mind makeup and hair things! Anything but the tweezers!"

"Neptune has ordered me to clean you up," the nymph said. "And I will. Now we can do this the hard way-"

Terralyn hopped onto the tree and scrambled down it to the ground.

"I won't go up there until you find_ another_ way to 'clean me up'!" Terralyn yelled. Then she ran back out into the garden.

Her headache was now a full blown migraine. Gingerly, she rubbed her temples, trying to will her headache away. She realized that maybe she was dehydrated, so she found a nice juicy apple and bit into it, savoring the flavor.

Her headache left her as soon as she ate the apple. She stared at the apple core in shock, and then let the core tumble from her hands and onto the ground. _Why am I so surprised? Everything here was created by a god… of course it's going to be magical._ She thought as she strolled through the gardens. Finally, after walking for quite some time, she found the cracked fountain and sat beside it. She trailed her finger along the broken crack as she studied the now completely empty fountain. The bottom was covered in golden swirls that seemed to glitter in the sun, and –to Terralyn's great surprise- there was a gold locket stuck fast in the wall of the fountain. Terralyn studied it, and tried to pull it out, but it would not budge. After some time she gave up, and headed back for her room. Water Nymph or not, she had to get ready for dinner. If she did not show up, surely Neptune would get angry, something that Terralyn found very amusing and terrifying at the same time.

She climbed up her tree and jumped onto her balcony. Looking out over the palace grounds, she could see a stone wall that surrounded the palace and its courtyards. She could also see a darker forest beyond the walls.

_Is that the forest that Neptune said I wasn't supposed to go into?_ She thought. _Weird. It almost seems as if the forest doesn't belong here…_

_Maybe I am like the forest…_

**Authors note:** yes, yes. I know- not a very good chapter. And I'm sorry I haven't updated- I guess I'm just so busy. I hope this story isn't too lame so far-

Thanks so much to my reviewers: Mariacin, Nixiesocean, Trackdog, Animals are my LIFE, Ihaconch, kolrega, porkypick, and simplegrl007. I really appreciate your reviews!

Anyways, I have a favor to ask of my readers. I'm proposing a vote for my story, so please, if you want to, pick one of the choices below and put it in your review-

For the next chapter,

Should Terralyn explore the palace, and consequently, get lost?

Should I introduce a new character? (I have a good idea for this one. Muhahaha)

Should Neptune organize a party just for Terralyn?

Should Terralyn explore the forest?(… and who knows what or who she'll find there)


	3. Chapter 3

To Terralyn's immense relief, the water nymph was not lying in wait for her when she got back to her room. With a sigh, Terralyn washed her hands with the cold bath water. She took one look at the gown Neptune had left her, and almost burst into laughter. She had never seen a puffier, frillier dress during her whole lifetime. There was no way she was going to change into that- that-

_Thing._ She thought. _This dress will now be called 'Thing'. Although I could probably think of other words to describe it…_

A knock came at the door, making Terralyn start.

"I am to escort you to the dining hall," said a voice through the door.

"Who are you?" Terralyn asked, making her way to the door.

"I'm Pete- Neptune's servant." Terralyn opened the door. "Come on. We shouldn't keep Neptune waiting." He looked Terralyn up and down, and his smile froze on his face. He scratched his bald head. "Shouldn't you change into something more… presentable?" he suggested mildly.

Terralyn gave him a look that could have frozen a volcano. Pete bowed hastily and offered his arm.

"As you wish," he said. They walked down the hall in silence. Pete was silent because he was troubled; however Terralyn was struck silent by the beauty of the palace.

White columns were placed on either side of the hallways, supporting an elegantly slanted roof. Upon further inspection, Terralyn could see that the roof was completely covered with one giant painting- a painting of the oceans, including all kinds of sea creatures and enchanted beings. It was truly a work of art. This painting seemed to stretch the whole length of the hallway, and in some places the painting was continued on the walls, or descended down the columns to the floor.

Of course, the floor was extravagant as well. It was a polished sand colored marble tile, and here and there were luscious looking white carpets. In the place where windows should have been, there were no window panes, or shutters. Instead, the windows were like huge holes, taking in the sea air which cooled the palace. Terralyn supposed that because Neptune was a god, he could control the weather, so he never had to worry about storms and such like.

In several places, cushioned chairs sat, ready to be used – although they did not look used at all. In fact, everything in the palace seemed as if it were brand new. This depressed Terralyn greatly, and she did not know why.

Finally they reached the dining hall. Pete gave her a worried frown before opening the doors, and ushering her in.

"Let me present you miss Terralyn-" he broke off, embarrassed that he did not know her last name. "Naraway. My name is Terralyn Naraway." She said. Pete nodded, his face flushed, then he stepped back to let her go through, out into 'the dining hall' which was consequently a type of porch. The ceiling was what looked like a simple white wood roof held up by a dozen columns, with fairy creatures painted on it. Terralyn stared up at a fairy with a golden crown on its head that looked strangely like Neptune-

The Neptune-fairy painting smiled. Terralyn jumped in shock, and then gave a startled look at Neptune. Neptune was smiling as well. Terralyn looked up at the ceiling, watching as other painted fairies moved to eat their dinner, just as the actual occupants of the room were doing. One fairy, with black hair in curling ringlets and a flowing purple dress, stared back at Terralyn with a shocked expression on her face. Terralyn jumped again, realization dawning on her. She took a step forward, her eyes still on the ceiling, and the painted fairy stepped as well. She jumped; it jumped. She crossed her eyes; it crossed its eyes. Terralyn looked away from the ceiling, and finally around at the occupants of the dining hall. They were all ignoring her, not even looking her way.

Neptune was smiling jovially, glad to have surprised her. She pretended not to see him, and sat down at the end of the table rather than the seat Neptune had beside him (which was clearly meant for her). He glared at her viciously, but she just ignored him and stared either at her food or up at the ceiling. No one at the table even looked at her, let alone talked to her.

Eventually everyone finished their dinner and drifted away, leaving Terralyn to pick at her food. She never ate in front of other people; it made her too uncomfortable. So even when everyone else was gone, and only Neptune was left, she did not eat. Neptune watched her like a very frustrated cat watching a clever mouse.

Then he pounced – that is to say he got off of his throne and went to sit beside Terralyn.

"You did not change into the dress I laid out for you," he pointed out. He did not sound mad, just a bit disappointed.

"Oh yeah. Regrettably, _Thing,_ that is to say that dress, could not make it to dinner today. She has an appointment with the garbage."

Neptune's lip twitched. "I knew you would not fancy it," he said. "Why are you not eating?"

"I'm not hungry," Terralyn said, standing up quickly.

"Yes you are," he said. "You have not eaten a full meal for quite some time."

"How do you know that?" Terralyn asked.

"I have my ways," Neptune said mysteriously. Terralyn snorted and stepped away from the table, trying to make her way past the formidable Neptune to the door.

"That sounded slightly stalker-ish." Terralyn pointed out.

"What is a stalker?" Neptune asked curiously.

"Someone who follows another person around, watches what they do, obsesses over them, and is generally an overall creepy person." Terralyn said, stepping sideways. Neptune stepped right in front of her.

"Well then," he said simply. "I am your stalker."

"That's not a good thing!" Terralyn said angrily. Her face went white. "One guy used to stalk me- it's scary."

"Yes, but I am not that 'guy'," he said. "And I don't seem to make you scared."

"I'm a tough cookie." She said. She pointed towards the window.

"Look! It's Zeus!" Terralyn yelled, attempting to distract him so she could make a run for it. Neptune laughed, never taking his eyes off her.

"Firstly, Zeus is Jupiter's greek name, and secondly, I would know if he was actually here." He said. "Will you dance with me?" he asked sweetly, his eyes wide and innocent. He continued to give her the puppy look.

"Only in your dreams." She said.

"Gods do not dream."

"That's awful."

"But if I had dreams, you would be in them, and we would be dancing," he caught her hand and twirled her around. "Exactly like this."

They waltzed a bit, Terralyn occasionally stepping on Neptune's toes.

"I bet stepping on your toes wasn't part of your dream," Terralyn muttered. "My dress is torn and dirty- my hair is a mess- and my dancing is awful. I'd say that this is more of a nightmare, personally."

Neptune grinned, but did not reply.

"Notice how you don't even contradict me," she said dryly.

Neptune laughed, and his gaze seemed to shift inwards. The slow dreamy notes of the waltz turned into a high energy song, and they began to swirl around and around, just like their dance yesterday. Terralyn laughed, tossing her hair, gripping onto Neptune's hands. Together they laughed and twirled around, until both Terralyn and Neptune stumbled away from each other, unable to walk straight.

_Across the ocean, on Mount Olympus, miles and miles away…_

Jupiter sat on his throne, hurling thunderbolts at a shimmering image of Mars. Mars had, once again, lost his temper when talking to Jupiter, and now- well, now there was tension in the air. War could break out any second. The gods were all taking sides, either with Mars or Jupiter; Juno, Venus, Minerva, and Ceres had allied with Jupiter, and Vulcan, Diana, Bacchus, Mercury and Vesta had allied with Mars. Jupiter was at a disadvantage; he had one person less than Mars. The only powerful god left was Neptune.

In fact, Mars had a tremendous advantage. He was the god of War, and Diana was the goddess of hunt. Mercury was cunning and quick. Vulcan was a blacksmith. Jupiter needed Neptune – who had not spoken to him in years. More importantly, Jupiter needed Neptune's triton. It was going to be a challenge to get his elusive brother to Olympus to help with the battle.

Because there would be a battle. Jupiter would make sure of it.

He threw another bolt of lightning at 'Mars'. With an agonized cry, the image died a painful death, and disappeared.

"How dare he go against me- insult me- the king of all gods!" he yelled. "He shall pay for his insolence!"

_**Authors Note**_

Hey guys! Yes a very short chap, I know. And yes, I chose to go with the 'introducing bad guy' choice. That bad guy could either be Mars or Jupiter- not to sure actually. Anyways, heres a run down of all the Roman gods I mentioned here:

**Jupiter: **leader of all gods. Wields bolts of lightning.

**Juno: **Wife of Jupiter, goddess of women and fertility.

**Mars: **god of war

**Venus: ** goddess of love and beauty

**Minerva: **goddess of wisdom, learning and industry.

**Ceres: **goddess of harvest

**Vulcan: **blacksmith of the gods

**Diana: ** goddess of hunt

**Bacchus: **god of wine and partying

**Mercury: **messenger of the gods

**Vesta: **goddess of hearth and home

Thanks to all my super reviewers: nifftyness19, Ihaconch, Mariacin, porkypick and Animals are my LIFE. Now here's a big question for you:

Should I keep on using Roman gods, or should I switch to Greek gods? It would not change the story any bit, although the names would be different…


	4. Chapter 4

"GOOD MORNING!" Neptune sang from outside her window. Terralyn buried her head under her covers, trying to ignore her god-like alarm clock. "Terralyn, don't make me come in there," he threatened. "Today you have to get up early! We are going on a tour of the castle!"

Terralyn gave a muffled yell, sounding distinctly like "Go away!"

"That is it, I am coming in, and I am waking you up!" He stepped in through the balcony door, and he gestured to the wind with his hand, pushing it so that it lifted Terralyn's blankets off of her – only it did not work so well, due to the fact that Terralyn was clutching the top half of the blankets. The rest of the blanket whipped around her feet. She flipped over and pulled her nightgown down to cover her legs. Unfortunately, her blanket was now floating off to the corner. Neptune gave a chuckle, while Terralyn glared at him, murderous thought on her mind.

"Get dressed. We are going on a tour of the castle!" he said excitedly, running his hand through his sand colored hair.

"Don't you have anything important to do… like, I don't know, watch over people, like a god is _supposed_ to do???" Terralyn asked sarcastically. Neptune gave her a blank look, making her sigh with frustration.

"Neptune, you're the god of the sea!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in frustration. "People need help when they are at sea if a storm brews up- like the people on my ship!"

"I am perfectly aware of that," Neptune said coolly. "If they call me, I will come to their aid- not before then," he brightened slightly. "Now get up, my dashing beauty, so we can get lost in my palace together!"

"Gee. I. Am. So. _Excited_." She droned. Then she flew into the bathroom, locking it in Neptune's shocked face, and laughed until she thought her jaw would break.

She got changed quickly into the dress which was laid out for her on the washroom table. It was a bronze color, and very plain, considering all the other gowns Neptune had picked for her before.

"Alright," she yelled through the door. "I will come with you, but only if you promise to give me a wardrobe so I can pick my own gowns for myself."

The door flew open, making Terralyn scowl.

"I could have been changing, you know!" she pointed out, stamping her foot like a small child.

"Am I correct to conclude that you do not like the gowns I have spent agonizing hours over to pick out for you?" Neptune asked gravely.

"Yes," Terralyn said bluntly. Neptune's face broke into a grin.

"Do you even have a conscience?" he asked.

"No." Terralyn said. "Do we have a deal?"

"We have a deal," he said. "Now let us go exploring!" he sang, taking Terralyn's arm and practically skipping out of the room.

Terralyn groaned outwardly.

"Is this any way for a god to act?" she whined. Neptune shook his head and laughed. "How would you like me to act?"

"I don't know!"

"How about dark and brooding?" he asked. Terralyn blinked, and Neptune was dressed in all black, with black eyeliner lining his eyes and long black hair.

"Yikes."

"How about poetic and depressed?" his garb changed to a ratty ripped outfit, Shakespearian style. His hair was messy brown, and he had dark circles under his eyes.

"That's a bit better."

"How about cold and unfeeling?"

"NO!" Terralyn yelled before he changed. Neptune smiled.

"How about handsome and romantic?" he asked. Terralyn waited for him to change, but he did not; he was the same blonde haired, blue eyed god she had known for the past few days.

"I'm waiting for you to change," she said. Neptune smiled.

"I do not need to change for this one," he pointed out proudly.

"You're right. Don't even try to change. It won't work anyway," Terralyn laughed. Neptune's face went dark and he grew tall. He stopped walking abruptly, forcing Terralyn to step back. Her foot got caught on the hem of her dress and she fell-

And he did not catch her.

"HOW DARE YOU INSULT ME?!" Neptune yelled. Terralyn blinked at him from where she lay on the ground.

"Umm….Sorry?" she offered.

"SORRY? IS THAT ALL YOU CAN SAY?"

"What else am I supposed to say?" she said dryly.

"YOU SHOULD BOW TO ME! YOU SHOULD BEG FOR FORGIVENESS!"

"You want me to grovel?" she asked, confused. "Why? I was only joking."

"Joking?" he shrunk a little.

"Yes. _JOKING._" She pronounced joking as if she were trying to explain something to a child. "I already know you are handsome, and you attempt to be romantic."

"Why thank you," he said, his voice low. He was now shrunk back to her size, though he still stood towering above her as she was still on the ground. "_Attempt_ to be romantic???"

"It wasn't very romantic of you to let me fall to the ground."

He helped Terralyn to her feet.

"It is my turn to beg for forgiveness," he said. "Unfortunately I have not ever spent very much time around humans. Their habits are unknown and unimportant to me."

"You think humans are unimportant?" Terralyn asked flatly.

"No- It's just that, I am a god. I have to be above them."

"So where are we now?" Terralyn changed the subject. She was hurt by his words, but she would not let him see that. "I haven't seen this hallway before."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Let us sit for awhile," Neptune said as they walked along the beach. They had explored the entire castle and were now walking around the island. Terralyn looked at him as if he was crazy. She was sweating like crazy, the day was hot, and the ocean was a temptation that could not be overlooked.

"I want to swim!" Terralyn exclaimed. She took off her shoes and was about to undress when she caught Neptune staring at her openly. "Turn around, you perv!" she yelled, blushing furiously.

"Why do you hide yourself?" Neptune asked. "You should embrace that you are beautiful with or without your clothes on."

She blushed furiously.

"TURN AROUND!" She glared at him. He turned around with a sigh. Terralyn blushed and stood still for a few minutes, very self conscious and slightly freaked out. Finally she decided to dismiss his words as one of his flirtations, and striped down to her underwear- which was another dress, basically, only slightly thinner and with stiff material around the chest area. She was wearing more clothing right now than she would have worn on a hot day at home- and she was in _underwear._ How sad was that?

She slipped into the water and swam out a bit.

"Okay, now you can look," she yelled.

"Okay," Neptune whispered, right in her ear.

"Eep," Terralyn squeaked. "Don't do that!" she yelled. She took one look at Neptune's smug face and dunked his head under the water. To her surprise he did not fight her, and he stayed under the water.

In fact he stayed under the water for such a long time, that Terralyn began to get afraid. She pulled him up, and he smiled at her sunily, not even gasping for breath. He took in her panicked look and began to laugh. He hugged her gently.

"Oh you are so adorable!" he cooed. "I am a god! And a god of the sea to boot! I can breathe under water!"

"That's cheating," Terralyn said, pushing herself away from him. "Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater, had a wife but couldn't keep her," she taunted, twisting one of her childhood rhymes around. He looked outraged, and dove after her. She swam away, laughing. But she was not quick enough.

"We'll see about that!" he yelled, dunking her underwater. She fought bravely, but she could not get out of his grip. Alarmed, she tugged on his arm, but he did not let her back up to the surface.

Terralyn's breath was running out.

She tugged on his arm again, and then began to struggle ferociously, kicking and punching. He finally let her up, and she gasped for air, clutching onto Neptune weakly as she coughed up water. He lifted her up and carried her to the beach.

"I am so sorry, Terralyn," he said. "I got a bit carried away. I forgot you were-" he broke off. "There, there," he pushed the hair from her face.

"You win," she croaked, attempting to smile. He smiled a broken smile back, and then he lay down beside her. Terralyn closed her eyes, shivering as the breeze touched her cold skin. The sun soon warmed her up though, and her clothes began to dry. She drank in the sun's rays and soon fell into a shallow sleep.

Neptune's eyes were wide open, and he lay on his side, watching her sleep.

_Do I love her?_ He asked himself.

Even he, the god of the sea, did not know the answer.

He sat up and stared out at the sea. He saw that the sun was beginning to set, and although he did not want to wake Terralyn up, he wanted her to see the sunset.

He shook her shoulder gently.

"Terralyn, wake up. The sun is setting," he said. His breath tickled her nose and she sneezed, waking up slightly.

"Mmblurgraarg," she mumbled incoherently. Neptune smiled and picked her up, carrying her down the beach and onto the waves. They walked for awhile before Terralyn realized what was going on.

"Let me down!" she demanded. He let her down, but kept a grip on her hand. Terralyn's skin prickled as she watched fish of all kind pass underneath the ocean below her. Something this unnatural, this _magical _made her feel uncomfortable and awed at the same time. It was just a reminder of how different Neptune was from her, and this made her feel very sad.

They walked along the waves for some time, watching the sun sink down to the horizon. The sky was a light rosy color, completely flawless and perfect.

"We will sit down here," Neptune said. Terralyn collapsed onto the 'ground' in a very unlady-like manner as Neptune sat down carefully beside her, leaving a few inches of space between them. Terralyn wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her head on her knees as she watched the sunset. It was the most beautiful sunset she had ever seen.

The sky seemed to blaze with the brilliance of colors; ruby red, pumpkin orange, lemon yellow, rosy pink and violet. The colors blended together perfectly in an unnatural way, almost as if it was a painting, not an actual sunset.

_This sunset is not natural,_ Terralyn realized. _He made it._ She snuck a sideways glance at Neptune, who was also watching the sunset. He must have felt her looking at him, because he quickly turned his head and caught her gaze.

"You made this sunset?" she asked. He nodded. She looked back out at the sunset sadly.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Huh? Why are you sorry?"

"You are crying," Terralyn touched her tear stained face in shock, feeling the tears that coursed down her face. Neptune scooted over to her and put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry. I love the sunset. I do. It's just-" she broke off. The beautiful sunset blurred in front of her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he asked softly.

"I miss my family," she said brokenly. "The sunset reminds me of them- I used to watch the sunset with my mom, and I used to think '_Daddy is watching this sunset right now,' _and that made me feel less lonely. But this sunset-" her voice broke again. "This is a sunset only I can see."

Neptune rocked her gently back and forth. For the first time in centuries, some kind of feeling was seeping through him-

_Guilt._

"I'm sorry, little one," he said. "I did not think-" he broke off. "I made this sunset for you," he said. "But tomorrow, we can enjoy a real sunset, of you wish to."

"Really?" she asked hopefully, looking up at him.

"Really. Now dry your eyes, and look at the sunset I spent hours creating for you," he said teasingly. "If you do not I will be very hurt. Perhaps I will make an idiot out of myself by getting mad and throwing a tantrum like a spoiled brat."

Terralyn laughed, drying her eyes, and then leaned back against him, listening to his heart beat.

"It's beautiful," she said. "I wish I could make something like this."

"You are this sunset, Terralyn," he said. "This sunset is you. It was made for you."

Terralyn laughed. "You're just teasing me again, Aren't you?" she asked. "Well I can tease to," she jumped up and began to run, away from Neptune and towards the perfect sunset.

Neptune bounded after her and caught her fairly quickly.

"I've got you!" he growled. "You are mine now!"

"Never!" Terralyn cried bravely. Then she ducked under his arm and began running the opposite way. He caught her again, pulling her into the circle of his arms.

Terralyn's breathing was ragged from running. "Let me go!" she gasped, but did not try to run away. He was too strong, too handsome and his arms felt very protective around her.

"Never," Neptune said. He tilted her chin upward so he could look into her eyes. "I am never letting you go."

"You'll get bored of me," she said, catching that his words had a double meaning. "I'm human. I don't have any powers or magic."

"I will never get bored of you, Terralyn," he said. "For the first time in centuries my heart has been opened."

"You're lying," she said. He grinned slightly.

"Maybe," he said mischievously. Then he stopped smiling, his face was serious.

"Can I kiss you?" he asked, like a timid boy on his first date. Terralyn laughed out loud, her face shining with the light from the setting sun.

"Maybe," she said.

Then he leaned down and kissed her, and the sun blazed suddenly, lighting up the two lovers in a brilliant white light.

O.o.O.o.O.o

**Authors note:** you like??? Thumbs up or down?

Thanks to reviewers: niftyness19, Brizo, Mariacin, Animals are my LIFE, and prokypick

Alright! Time for another question!

Which god do you like best?

Mercury

Vulcan

Diana

Let me know! The god the most voted for will end up making an appearance in my next chapter.. (most likely to wreak havoc. Muahahahahaha)

-teardrop


	5. Chapter 5

You know those clear moments when you first wake up in the morning? The ones where you stare up at the ceiling and think everything through and everything seems clear? That moment when you can remember your dreams exactly? Terralyn was having one of those moments. As she lay in bed, stared at her ceiling, and thought about what happened last night- The tour of the castle, the walk on the beach, the sunset, the kiss, walking back along the waves with fireflies fluttering around them-

_WAIT A MINUTE! REWIND AND STOP!_ _The kiss- did that happen? Was I only imagining it? Was that just a dream?_

_No._

One would think that a girl finding out that I man- a **god**- loved her, or supposedly loved her, would be crazy with happiness. But Terralyn- Terralyn just felt awkward. She felt like she had been shoved into some extravagant story where she did not belong.

_He never said he loved me. He just said he was never letting me go. He kissed me- but that might not mean anything to him. _

She contemplated going down to breakfast, but the thought of eating in front of Neptune's rude subjects made her feel slightly queasy. But it wasn't just that; she was afraid of Neptune himself. She was afraid of what had happened last night. She wondered if he was going to act differently now, if she should act differently now.

She noted another door beside the washroom. She opened it up, and discovered a small closet, filled with all kinds of gowns. She smiled to herself as she got changed. At least Neptune had kept his promise. She washed up and went out onto the balcony, deftly climbing down the tree, grabbing an apple on the way down. She decided she was going to go swimming again today. The feel of the ocean made her think of home.

She wandered around until she found the shore, and stripped down to her under dress, and ran into the water. She plunged under, enjoying the feel of the cool water on her skin. She swam around for awhile, and then dove for shells, pilling her findings up on the beach. She looked around, reassuring herself that she was alone. Then she started to sing in a pretty singing voice. She switched back and forth between songs. She was in the middle of one of her favorite verses when a cough interrupted her.

She fell silent and glanced up at the stranger, her eyes wide with surprise. On the beach stood a wiry boy with silver hair; he wore a blue shirt with a leather jerkin, breeches and gold sandals. He bowed to her mockingly.

"Good day, miss," he said, grinning wickedly. "Enjoying yourself?"

"I was until you came along," she snapped, blushing. "Who are you?"

The man laughed joyfully, shaking his head.

"You will have to figure that out for yourself," he said waving his hand. "I have come to visit my dear uncle, Neptune. Do you know where he might be?"

"Umm, in his castle?" Terralyn asked sarcastically. He laughed, giving her a smile.

"You are as clever as you are beautiful," he complemented her, making her blush once more. She eyed the man with dislike. She did not like this type of man- he was a player through and through.

"His castle is a bit further inland. You'll have to ask around for him- he's always somewhere different." Terralyn said. She waved briefly. "See you later." She dove underwater, swimming further out. When she looked back, he was gone. She waited a few minutes, then got out of the water and lay out on the beach, drinking in the sun's rays. She had a sense of Déja Vue, and remembered distinctly lying beside Neptune yesterday. She listened to the noises around her- waves crashing, birds calling, insects buzzing- and suddenly she was hit by a wave of loneliness.

She got up and headed back to the castle.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Greetings, all mighty Neptune," the mystery man said, bowing. Neptune smiled crookedly at his Nephew.

"What brings you here, Mercury?" Neptune asked. Mercury's face grew serious.

"I would rather not talk about it right now," he said. "Perhaps we could discuss it after dinner?"

"Of course." Neptune said gallantly. "How are things back home?"

"Not so good."

"Ah. So that is why you are here. Never mind. I hope you will enjoy yourself here." Mercury walked up and inspected some art work hanging on the wall.

"I see you have taken up yet another human girl," Mercury commented, without turning around.

"What do you mean?" Neptune asked sharply.

"I met the charming girl outside," Mercury said, grinning. "She was not very polite, although she is beautiful, I'll give you that." He paused. "I bet her family misses her."

"I have reasons for keeping her here," Neptune said bluntly, hiding his anger behind a polite mask. "And they are not the reasons you are thinking of."

"I see."

"Shall we take a walk in the garden?"

"I would be honored. I have request though," Mercury said.

Neptune paused, looking at Mercury.

"I do not believe your human toy realizes that I am a god. I would like to keep it that way. She does not need to know the business of the gods."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Terralyn once more sat on the edge of the cracked fountain. She was trying, once again, to pull out the stubborn locket which was stuck fast to the side of the fountain. It would not come out, and for some reason that depressed her. Voices echoed in the distance, and came steadily towards her. Finally two figures came through the trees and into the garden Terralyn was dwelling in.

"I thought you might be here," Neptune called out mildly. Terralyn smiled at Neptune uncertainly, and frowned at his guest. Mercury grinned back at her good naturedly.

"Have you met our guest, Jack? He's an old friend of mine."

"Jack?" Terralyn frowned. "Yes we have met."

"I am sure you two will get along splendidly." Neptune said smoothly. "After all you are both human."

"That doesn't mean we'll be bosom buddies," Terralyn said mildly.

"'_Bosom Buddies?_'" Neptune laughed. "I hope that does not mean what I think it means."

"It means soul mate." Terralyn said, blushing. "Obviously you haven't read Anne of Green Gables."

"Who is Anne?"

"Never mind."

Mercury watched this conversation, clearly fascinated.

"I think you two are soul mates," Jack said. Both persons gave him a blank look. "You two act like an old married couple!" he grinned. "I can not get a word in sideways!"

Neptune laughed, while Terralyn shot him a dirty look.

_There's something about Jack that I just don't like._ She thought. _Human or not, he's creepy. I don't trust him._

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The two gods sat down on one of the many balconies of the palace. A nymph poured wine for the two of them. Mercury took a big gulp of his wine, and studied the ocean thoughtfully. The two gods sat in silence for a few minutes.

"I came here to deliver a message," Mercury said finally. "There's some trouble brewing at home. A war of the gods could start at any second. Mars has requested for your help and guidance."

"I see."

"You do not have to say yay or nay just yet. Mars will give you a week to decide."

"That is not very long."

"The war could break out at any minute." Mercury gulped his wine down. "We need to know whom is friend and whom is foe as soon as possible."

"I will send my answer in a week, then," Neptune said. "I understand why you need me for this war, but why should I leave my peaceful home to battle for you? What is in it for me?"

"Mars thought you might say that. He said to tell you he will grant whatever your heart desires- one wish."

"I see."

Mercury stood up.

"I should head back," he said. "Farewell, uncle. Give my regards to your little human as well." With a soft click, wings sprouted out of his gold sandals and he flew off into the sunset.

"Oh dear. What poison has he been dripping in your ear?" a husky voice whispered in Neptune's ear a few moments later. Neptune jumped up and turned to face the stranger. A beautiful woman stepped out of the shadows. She had long blonde hair and purple eyes, high cheek bones and full lips. She was tall and curvy, her chest full and her legs long. She was beauty itself.

"Good evening Neptune," she said. She laid a hand on his arm. "I am sorry I arrived so late."

"Good evening, Venus," Neptune said. He could not take his eyes off of her. "I can guess why you are here."

"Can't a lovely goddess visit a handsome god without reason?" Venus said innocently. Neptune raised one eyebrow. Venus pouted slightly.

"Jupiter sent me," she said sulkily. "You know why."

"I do. And what has he offered to give me?"

"He offered the same thing as Mars- one wish." Venus rolled her eyes.

"'Tis not very original."

"No, not at all," Venus paused. She slithered up to him, pressing her chest against his. "Which is why I am also offering something else…"

"And what would that be?" he asked. Venus stroked his chest, and bit him lightly on the shoulder.

"Me."

She kissed him passionately, pushing him against the balcony railing.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

_He promised me that we'd see a normal sunset together tonight,_ Terralyn thought grumpily. _The sun is setting already!_ She stomped through the gardens, making her way around the castle. She thought she heard Neptune's voice coming from one of the balconies. She stared up curiously, noting that there was a woman's voice as well. Then she saw him.

He was kissing a gorgeous woman.

Terralyn's heart ached as she watched their passionate kiss. She was almost crippled with the pain in her heart. Then something in her snapped. She was furious. Furious at Neptune and his stupid words and his worthless promises. She picked up a rock and hurled it through the air, neatly smacking Neptune in the back of the head.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Neptune was startled out of his trance by a dull pain at the back of his head. He broke the kiss and stared down below, just in time to catch a glimpse of Terralyn's tear stained face. Then he saw her running into the gardens, out of his sight.

He pushed Venus roughly away.

"You are wearing your magical garter aren't you?" he asked suspiciously. Venus pouted, and nodded slightly. Neptune groaned inwardly. The magic garter made all men feel attracted to Venus, no matter if he was a god or a human. "I should have known. Very well. Tell Jupiter that I will consider his proposal. He will have an answer by the end of this week."

"Okay," Venus said. She bent down to adjust her shoes, giving Neptune a full view of her cleavage. She straightened up slowly. "Remember what I promised." Then she was gone.

Neptune ran a hand through his hair. He decided that he should go find Terralyn and explain things to her.

She was not in her room.

She was not by the fountain.

She was not by the ocean.

_Where could she have gone?_

Neptune decided to look in his scrying bowl. It was a gold bowl filled with enchanted water that allowed him to see whatever he wished. He did not use it often, but he had used it once or twice to look up on Terralyn and make sure she was not getting into any trouble. He waved his hand over the water and watched Terralyn's face slowly appear. She was sitting in a tree, and crying softly, struggling to keep stop her tears.

Neptune searched his heart. Did he feel sad? Regret? Pity? No. He felt nothing. He had locked away his emotions long ago. He only felt the ghost of old emotions every now and then. He had locked away his emotions to avoid getting hurt by the destruction of the human world around him. Watching the sobbing girl, he was faintly glad that he could not feel sadness. He was glad that his heart could not break.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors Note: **ah yes. We now know that Neptune has very little feelings- does that mean the romance scene was a set up??????? Not necessarily. I think that Neptune has been so sheltered from humans that he just needed a little fun. He does not know if he loves Terralyn or not because he has no feelings, hence why last chapter he asked himself: '_Do I love her?_'

I will get more into why Neptune closed his heart next chapter. He's a bit of a jerk right now- but to be honest, it's not his fault. Venus is a seductive biatch, and she magicked him into it.

Thanks to my reviewers: Ihaconch, bordeauxdaffodill, Animals are my LIFE, porkypick, No-Way-Princess and queenofthefearies. Your reviews are very helpful (except for Taylers… really darling. You must put more than "aww great chap!' as your review:P)

Now I have a question for my reviewers:

Should Terralyn run away, or should she stay????

Dundundun

What will happen next????


	6. Chapter 6

A ripple of awareness shuddered through Terralyn. She did not really understand how or why she knew this- only that she was very certain- she was being watched. Immediately she stopped crying, and scampered out of the tree like a wounded animal. She dropped to the ground, not bothering to cushion her fall, and raced into the gardens. She needed to get away, get away from everything; the castle, the magic, the ocean, the gardens, the nymphs, the mermaids, the servants, _him_. She had to get away from it all. But how could you escape from an island? She could not walk on the sea, not of her own will, and she had no boat nor could she swim for vast periods of time. There was nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. She was trapped.

_Where can I go? Where will he not find me?_ She asked herself. In her mind she found the answer. She ran out of the exquisite gardens, down to the ocean. Then she followed to coast until she reached a gloomy, dark forest- the one Neptune had forbidden her from entering. She did not hesitate, but threw herself into the thick foliage, running, tripping, falling, running-

Running from her problems. She refused to admit it to herself, but that was exactly what she was doing. This would not be the first time she had run from her problems- why do you think, dear reader; she had boarded that cursed ship in the first place? To get away from her mother- and her mother's dreadful boyfriend. She remembered countless small things- skipping classes, quitting sports, turning on friends- all running away.

Run, Terralyn. Run. How long can you keep it up? How long until you fall down from fatigue, until your legs refuse to keep you standing?

* * *

The image in his scrying bowl blurred, and disappeared all together. Neptune smacked the water angrily, pushing his magic into it. Finally, some time later, the water showed Terralyn's grim face as she ran along the coast of the ocean, and into the forest. His eyes widened and he jumped up, a feeling of panic rising in his stomach.

"PETE! GET MY TRITON!" he yelled, dashing down the hallway. A bewildered and somewhat scared Pete grabbed the Triton from its stand and tossed it to Neptune. Within seconds Neptune had grabbed the Triton and disappeared in thin air, leaving a confused Pete in his wake.

He appeared in a clearing, much to his chagrin. The whole forest was cursed- he had cursed it himself- and the only amount of protection would come from the foliage. Not that he would have to worry about protection. He was a god, after all. But this was where Terralyn was, and so she had no protection at all. He quickly scanned the area, searching, and spotted a shadowed figure lying on the ground. He sprinted over to Terralyn, who was lying on her side, moaning with pain. Her ankle was twisted in a sickly direction. She had tripped over a large rock during her mad dash in the woods.

"Terralyn! Are you alright?" Neptune kneeled beside her. "Can you move?" Her only response was a slight whimper. "Terralyn, I need you to get up. We have to get out of here!"

He brushed her hair from her forehead. Panic rose in his stomach- he did have certain powers as a god, but healing was not one of them. She would have to be taken to the Healing Fountain for that. Neptune did not want to move her- her foot looked that bad- but if he did not move her soon-

A figure stepped into the clearing, with black hair and dark, brooding eyes.

Too late.

The man had a cold smile and he stood poised in a way that would remind one of a panther. He was a hunter, no doubt, and he walked up to Terralyn, whispering in a honey voice.

"Ah Terralyn. It's good to see you. Haven't seen you in awhile. Been in Military School- in fact I haven't seen much of the world at all." He paused. "Do you want to know why?"

"GET BACK YOU TYRANT!" Neptune roared, forcing his will against the Hollow. Hollows could not damage physically, but they could damage mentally. What they did was they took the form of someone well known, and attacked their victims verbally. The only way to fight one was through words and thoughts. Hollows were only one kind of beast found in the forest.

"Terralyn, Terralyn. I love you so much. I only followed you because I love you. I won't do it again, I promise," the Hollow said. "But I can't live now- I might as well be dead. I'm in Military School. All because of you. _It's all your fault._"

Terralyn whimpered, covering her head with her hands. He was the very image of her stalker boyfriend she had called the police on years ago.

"LEAVE. HER. ALONE." Neptune roared. The Hollow flashed a cool smile, and then he was gone.

Neptune grabbed his Triton and waved it over his head. Slowly, a wave of water came out of nowhere and lifted Terralyn off the ground, holding her in the air as if she were lying on a suspended platform. Neptune envisioned the Healing Fountain, and with a whoosh, the wounded girl and fuming god arrived there. Slowly the water platform lowered Terralyn until she was sitting in the pool of water. The pain in her leg dimmed and diminished completely. She flexed her foot bewilderedly; it was completely healed. She looked around her noting that she was in a plain white room, sitting in a pool of water just by a small fountain. Very plain in simple, really, compared to the rest of the palace.

"What happened?"

"You went into the forest, the one I _forbade_ you to enter," Neptune ran his hands agitatedly through his hair. "Then you fell and broke your ankle, and you were attacked by a Hollow."

"-Hollow?" Terralyn echoed.

"A spitting image of your stalker boyfriend," Neptune said. "He attacked you verbally, but I drove him off." Neptune was struggling to keep his emotions in check. He was furious at Terralyn for entering the forest at all.

"Why did you go in there at all? I told you not to!" his voice was low as he struggled to keep his temper.

"I was running away."

"Running away? Why?"

"I saw you smooching with that girl," she said. "So I ran away."

Neptune rubbed his face tiredly. "That was the goddess, Venus."

"Oh."

"She had her enchanted girdle on."

"Mmhmm. That's what they _all_ say."

"She did! She was trying to bewitch me into agreeing to something."

Terralyn looked at him expectantly, waiting for an explanation. His face remained plank, his blue eyes unexpressive. When he did not give an answer, she turned away, washing the dirt on her arms and legs off with the water.

"Why do you keep that forest here? You are a god. You could get rid of it," she said haphazardly, just to fill up the uncomfortable silence.

"I could get rid of it," he admitted. "But I'm not going to."

"Why?" she turned around and looked at him.

"I created it."

"What?!"

"Precisely."

"Why?"

"That seems to be the question of the day today, doesn't it?" he teased, and then his face grew serious. "Well, when I was younger, I was greatly, deeply affected by everything that happened around me. Sometimes my anger would get the better of me and caused me to lose control. People, animals, innocent beings died because of my temper. Jupiter told me it was best to take out my anger on something- a tree, a rock, a room, anything- and always take my anger out on that specific thing. So that is what I did. I created a forest by my home, and that is where I took out my anger. Sometimes things would get out of hand- like the Hollows, for example. They used to be trees, until I zapped them with magic. Now they can change shape and they like nothing better to torment passer-bys."

"I suppose having a dreadful forest is better than taking out your anger on everyone else."

"Exactly."

They sat in silence for a few minutes.

"So what changed?" Terralyn asked. "Your magic doesn't go crazy every time you loose your temper." She grimaced. "And believe me, I would know."

"As I got older, the world changed. Things just kept getting worse; Wars, famine, murders, sicknesses, pollution in the oceans. And it ate away at me. It ate away at my heart. So I did what any sensible god would do- I put away my heart."

"You put away your heart," Terralyn said slowly. She looked horrified. Then she swam up to Neptune and stood up. Carefully, she hugged him, pulling him close. To her dismay, Terralyn felt tears streaming down her cheeks. She was crying for him.

"I take it this means I am forgiven?" Neptune asked dryly. Terralyn laughed tearfully.

"Absolutely not!" she said, pulling away. "You'll have to prove yourself first."

Neptune looked puzzled. "I have to _prove_ myself?"

"What, are you scared?" Terralyn taunted.

"Scared? Of you? Never!" he laughed. "That would be like a lion being afraid of a lamb."

"Are you calling me a sheep?" she shoved him playfully. He slipped on the floor and with a splash, he landed in the pool.

"Oops."

Then she felt invisible arms pulling at her, and she to fell into the pool. Neptune splashed her, giggling like a little boy, and Terralyn shrieked and scrambled away, slipping through the shallow water. Finally the two collapsed on either side of the fountain, breathing hard.

"Why won't you let me catch you?" Neptune inquired. Terralyn considered responding, but was cut of by the feel of two strong arms encircling her waist. Neptune hugged her gently. His lips pressed into her hair.

"Terralyn- I –I think…" he struggled with his words. "I do not know for sure, but my mind tells me that if I was able to feel, I-" he cleared his throat. "I think I like you very much."

Terralyn looked up at him, her mouth open in surprise. Then she began to laugh. Neptune looked offended, and he stood up, turning away from her.

"Wait!" she laughed. "I'm not laughing at you!"

"Yes, you are."

"No I'm not! I'm laughing at the very idea of you- a _god_, liking me, little pathetic me!"

Neptune kept his back turned away from her, facing the wall with a stony look on his face. Terralyn walked around him, until she could look him in the face.

"I like you to," she said. "Now that makes two of us who are silly."

"The only silly person here is you," Neptune said.

"Oh stop pouting," Terralyn tweaked his nose. He growled and pulled her close to him. He kissed her gently, his hand slithering down her back, cupping her bottom. Terralyn squeaked and pulled away.

"Did you just-" she broke off. Neptune smirked at her, his hands shoved into his pockets. He strutted past her, and his hand snapped out, and he smacked her bottom.

"OH NO YOU DIDN'T!" she cried, outraged.

"Oh, I think I just did," he said coolly, before ducking away from Terralyn's fist, running away, giggling like a very naughty boy who had just played a prank on his teacher.

* * *

**Authors note:** ahaha naughty Neptune! My personally fav line is definitely now "'She had a magic girdle on' … 'mmhmm. That's what they _all_ say.'"

Thanks to my reviewers: Animals are my LIFE, Mariacin (sorry for not mentioning you in my last chapter.. but I only mention reviewers who reviewed the previous chapter, and I don't think you reviewed last time.. your reviews are greatly appreciated) porkypick, nifftyness19, Meldriel-SoftTwilight!!!!!!!! Your reviews are awesome!!!!!!!!

And now its time for a question

Fluff or Lemons? (If someone doesn't know what I'm talking about, just ask)


	7. Chapter 7

"What do you mean he would not give you an answer?" Jupiter yelled. He was the very image of fury: his face was beat red, his hands clenched in a fist, his eyes popping out of his head, and his hair whipping this way and that, propelled by mini static lightning which shot through his hair. Anyone with any sense of self preservation would cower before him. Venus, however, just shot him a scornful look, and continued her inspection of her nails.

"That idiot Mercury got to him first, and Mars made the same proposition as you," Venus scoffed. "What was I supposed to do? Beg?"

Jupiter regarded her carefully, and then calmed down slightly, although his hair still snaked around him in a mad frenzy. "I suppose not," he allowed.

"Besides, you will know his decision by the end of the week," Venus pointed out. She smiled slyly. "I did what I could to persuade him."

"I see," Jupiter said. "Likewise, I'd like you to visit him again. He may need a bit more persuasion."

"Of course," she said. "Do not worry. He will fight for us. I'll make sure of it."

"See that you do."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Mars tapped his fingers together, scrutinizing Mercury, who was watching him wearily.

"So, we will wait a week then," Mars said. Mercury nodded. "If he does not choose, or if he chooses the _other_ side, you know what to do."

"We shall see," Mercury said, melting into the shadows.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Did I not promise you a normal, human sunset?" Neptune asked sweetly, his blue eyes shining.

"Yes but, I was not expecting _this._"

The reason for Terralyn's shock was evident. They were sitting on top of Mount Everest, watching as the sun slowly went down.

"This is ridiculous! We're higher than the fricken' sun!" Terralyn exclaimed. Neptune just smiled at her. "And how the heck are we still breathing anyway?"

"I surrounded us in a bubble of air," he said.

"Gee, how romantic of you," Terralyn said sarcastically. Neptune frowned slightly, and then started to laugh. Soon Terralyn joined in. She knew it wasn't that funny, but she laughed because he was laughing, and he laughed because she was laughing… and you get the picture.

The sun light reflecting off the snow below them seemed to make everything glow. The sun itself was blinding Terralyn slightly, and her eyes started to water.

"Are you alright?" Neptune asked. Terralyn nodded.

"The sun-" she broke off as he kissed her, soft and lingering. He kissed the tears from her eyes and smiled at her playfully. Terralyn smiled shyly back at him as he pulled away. Her heart fluttered, and she found herself leaning in, and kissing _him_, for once. He seemed startled at first, but soon gave in, and pulled her in closer. He stroked her back, his hand going a little lower than necessary. Terralyn pulled back, pulling his hands off her back, and gave him a stern look.

"Now, now, let's keep this PG." she said sternly. He raised his eyebrow slightly.

"What is this 'PG'?" he asked, smiling. It was around then that Terralyn realized he had placed his hand on her upper leg. She pushed it off.

"It means no ass, thigh, or chest grabbing, whatsoever." Neptune pouted.

"You are the one who kissed me," he pointed out. Then he grinned mischievously. "And you never said anything about no kissing." He pulled her to him and kissed her passionately, his tongue sliding into her mouth. Terralyn's eyes sprung wide open in shock, and she squeaked. Then she relaxed into the kiss, her eyes closing as she ran her hands through his golden hair.

The sun went down, leaving them in the dark. Without even stopping his kiss, Neptune transported them to his room. To be more accurate, his bed. Terralyn found herself pinned under him.

_Gosh he's heavy,_ she thought. _Oh God, why do I have such random thoughts at a time like this? God he is hot._ Immediately after that, she almost cursed out loud.

_Shit. I just prayed to god- Neptune's a god- what if he heard me? SHIT!_

Neptune either did not hear, are did not pay attention. He continued kissing her passionately, his lips trailing from her mouth, to her neck. His shirt had disappeared long ago, and Terralyn ran her hands along his defined stomach. He kissed her collar bone, nipping her lightly, causing her to squeak in surprise. With a wave of his hand, her dress disappeared, leaving her in her underwear. He kissed her stomach all the way up to her old fashioned bra.

"Wait-" Terralyn stuttered as he began to unclasp her bra. Her eyes widened in shock and she looked afraid, like a frightened deer. "Stop-"

The bra was gone. She struggled under him, pushing him away. He rolled off of her and lay down beside her, panting slightly. Terralyn crossed her arms over her bare chest and turned away from him, curling up into the fetal position. "Stop." She repeated again. "Stop. Stop. _Stop."_

"I will not do anything you do not want me to do," Neptune said softly from behind her. His breath tickled her back. "Don't you want to have sex with me?"

"No, no I don't." Terralyn said, shivering slightly. Neptune pulled the covers over them both. Terralyn turned her head and watched him. His godly face glowed eerily in the dark.

"When you kissed me, I thought-" he broke off. He looked very confused. "Why don't you want to have sex?"

"I just- I'm not ready," Terralyn said, still shivering. "I'm not experienced- I'm not ready- I-" she broke off.

Tentatively, Neptune reached over and stroked her back. Terralyn stiffened, but after awhile she relaxed.

"I would never force you to do anything," Neptune said, his eyes smoldering. Terralyn let out a bitter laugh.

"You're a god. You can force anyone to do what you want, and you probably have, judging by what I've read about Roman gods."

"This is true," Neptune allowed. "But, as I already told you, I think I have feelings for you. You are special to me. I could never live with myself if I forced that on you."

"Thank you," Terralyn whispered.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Outside on the balcony, Venus' eyes glowed with resentment.

_Neptune is in love with a human! How can this be?_

She watched as the two love birds fell asleep. Then she left the castle, knowing that no amount of persuasion would work on Neptune.

But, every cloud has a silver lining; Venus had just figured out Neptune's weakness, a certain green eyed, black haired mortal he would never allow to be harmed…

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note: **hey guys! Ahahahaha Heather! You thought it was going to be a lemon scene, sisn't you! Teehee anywho thanks so much to my reviewers of the last chapter-

Ihaconch, porkypick, Mariacin, sweet thoughts, Brizo, Animals are m LIFE, niftyness19, het2468, Nosilla and DLster

Just to clear things up, fluffromance, lemonssex

most of my reviewers wanted lemons, which is kind of creeping me out… cough HEATHER cough

Anyways I have a question for my reviewers (as I always do) who should be the bad guy? Jupiter or Mars????? dundundundun


	8. Chapter 8

"AHH! What am I going to wear?" Terralyn said, frantically searching her wardrobe. Neptune was hosting a ball that night. When she had asked him what the ball was for, he had simply shrugged. She assumed that throwing random parties was just a god thing. Really, she didn't even like parties. She loved to dance, and flirting was always fun, but there was always someone trying to pressure her into drinking alcohol, smoking drugs or, well, more-than-making-out. But this was going to be different. This was a ball, like one of those balls you read about in Fairy Tales.

On top of it all, it was going to be a masked ball. Terralyn sighed. _How romantic!_ She normally was a very down to earth girl, but years of reading romance novels and watching Disney movies had worn her down. Even though all her friends and past boyfriends thought she was cold, there was a part of her, a very small part, that wished for a prince to come along and sweep her off her feet…or that one of her boyfriends would present her a rose or something. (Not exactly what she had in mind, but still.) She hoped that Neptune would do something romantic for her tonight. She hoped he would kiss her again- although he had been strangely distant these past couple of days, and he treated her with utmost politeness, helping her step over rocks during walks, he also pulled chairs out for her, and helped her get up the stairs. He was nothing but polite. His behavior was starting to get ridiculous.

It had been over a week since Terralyn had witnessed Neptune kissing Venus, but she had pretty much forgiven him. Still, doubt had been shot in her mind, and it was now stuck there. It would take a miracle for her to completely trust him ever again.

Terralyn searched her closet, grumbling to herself. Finally she gave up. There was nothing in there that she remotely liked. She rocked on her heels, glaring at the mass of rejected gowns. Then something caught her eye; on the chair in the corner lay the most beautiful dress Terralyn had ever seen. It was a pale blue number that dropped off the shoulders, and had full length sleeves. The skirt was long, touching the ground, and there was sparkles glued at the bottom in the shape of waves. Terralyn squealed and picked it up, twirling around the room. Then she put it on, slipping on a pair of matching blue slippers and looked herself up and down in the mirror.

_Wow._ Terralyn thought, turning this way and that. _I look like a princess._ She laughed. _I've definitely watched too many Disney Movies._ She twirled over to her vanity, and began to brush her hair. A quick glance out the window told her that it was sunset, and that it was almost time for the party. She glanced back down at the vanity, and noticed a blue mask there. She quickly put it on, noting the jewels on it made a pattern of waves around the edges.

That done, she sat down on her bed and watched the sunset. She fingered the gold locket on her neck gingerly- it was the same gold locket that was stuck in the cracked fountain earlier. She had finally gotten it loose the other day, and so she hung it on her neck, marveling at how it glittered in the light. But she did not open it. Something told her that that was very bad idea, although she couldn't understand how such a small thing as opening a small locket could be dangerous. But then again, one should always expect the unexpected because unexpected things occur everyday.

_Like getting kidnapped by a god,_ Terralyn mused.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Neptune glared at the mirror.

"I'M NOT FIGHTING IN THIS WAR AND THAT IS FINAL!" he yelled. Anyone passing by his room that moment would have thought he was insane, sitting there yelling at a mirror. In fact, he was yelling Mars.

"I have offered you one wish, a wish that I, the ruler of the gods, could grant you," Mars reminded him. Mars was trying very hard to control his hot temper.

"I will not fight for you!" Neptune said, in a dangerously low tone of voice.

"Is that your final decision?"

"Yes. I wish to be left alone."

"So be it." Mars disappeared from view.

"Damn. Damn. Damn." Neptune cursed, running a hand through his hair. He had had a similar conversation with Jupiter earlier that morning, and both gods had simply waved his rejection away, instead of getting into a furious argument. That was not a good thing. That meant that they had something up their sleeves, some hidden card that had not been played…

Neptune stalked over to his scrying bowl, and looked into it. His eyes watched Terralyn as she watched the sunset. The lovely glow of the blood red sky washed over the girl, giving her a rosy glow. The mask she held in her hands sparkled as she fidgeted. Neptune smiled grimly. It seemed she was looking forward to this ball as much as he was. Slowly his smile melted, and a fierce protectiveness solidified on his face.

"No matter what happens, Terralyn, I will protect you. This I solemnly swear." he said. Although she couldn't hear him, Neptune watched a smile spread across her face, and he fancied that maybe she had.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

A knock sounded at the door.

"Are you ready, Miss Terralyn?" Pete asked. Terralyn considered his question for a moment.

"As ready as I'll ever be," Terralyn said truthfully. Pete opened the door and poked his head in. He smiled at her and opened the door, gesturing out to the hallway.

"Shall we go?" he asked, scratching his bald head. Terralyn nodded and took his arm, and they walked down the hall. When they arrived at the ballroom doors, music was already playing. It was a happy, upbeat melody, one that made Terralyn's feet itch to dance. But Terralyn couldn't bring herself to open the door- her stomach was too busy getting devoured by butterflies. Pete opened the door slowly, and they stepped into the room, and were blinded by the amount of color and light. Every being in that room was dressed in a vibrant costume. The women wore jewels and beads which reflected the light, blinding Terralyn temporarily. She watched as the women nymphs chattered with each other, glancing sidelong at the men nymphs. Some couples were dancing, although others were eating, or talking, or taking a stroll out into the garden. There were so many different creatures there that it would be impossible to mention them all here. Some creatures were giving Terralyn odd looks, glancing at her as if she were some kind of weird specimen. Terralyn supposed she was; she was the only human, besides Pete, at this party. One fairy, a man, blew her a kiss, and suddenly Terralyn did not want to be there anymore.

Just then she felt a presence behind her. She whirled around, and came face to face with Neptune. He smiled at her, his blonde hair shining in the candlelight. He was dressed in all black, with a black mask, which was very much different from what he normally wore. He smiled even wider at Terralyn and bowed, and she attempted a curtsy. He offered his arm, and Pete stepped aside, allowing her to take Neptune's arm. She smiled at him shyly and they descended the stairs together. Terralyn kept her eyes on the stairs, stepping carefully. She was afraid she might fall, and she was also afraid of the stares that were directed their way.

"You look beautiful tonight, my dear," Neptune said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.

"Thanks. You're not looking too shabby yourself," Terralyn said. She sighed in relief. They were finally down the stairs.

"Would you like to dance?"

"Sure."

They danced the whole night away, never stopping once. It was an event that seemed to last forever, yet if Terralyn were forced to recall it, she would not be able to remember any details. It seemed as if the entire night passed in a whirl of dancing and laughter.

But all good things must come to an end.

"Would you like to go out into the gardens with me?" Neptune asked. Terralyn nodded, unable to speak. She was sweating and her face was flushed from the dancing. They linked arms and walked out together.

Just before they left the ballroom, Terralyn's hair stood on end, and she knew without question that she was being watched. She looked behind her, and her eyes locked with the eyes of a young man with silver hair. His eyes sparkled mischievously, and he sneered neatly at her. His mask blocked most of his face, but all the same Terralyn could tell he was human. Then, as if a light bulb went off in her head, Terralyn recognized him.

_Jack? What's Jack doing here?_ Terralyn thought. Jack smiled and put his finger to his lips, then gestured at Neptune. Terralyn took the hint. She frowned, but turned around and focused on the gardens around them as she and Neptune kept walking. _Why does Jack not want Neptune to know he's here?_ She shrugged it off. She was never one to betray another person's secret.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Neptune asked.

"Yeah. I've never been to a ball before."

"What?" Terralyn laughed at the shocked expression on his face. "But don't all women who come of age attend balls?"

"'Fraid not. You're thinking hundreds of years ago."

"So there are no balls?"

"Not unless you're royalty…although there are charity balls," Terralyn made a face. "But they're boring."

"I see." They walked in silence for awhile. Terralyn's eyes picked out a fountain in the dark, and she pulled him over to it and sat down.

"Hey! It's the broken fountain!" Terralyn exclaimed. Neptune smiled, bemused.

"What's so special about this fountain?" he asked.

"I dunno. I like it. It's your fault it's busted."

"I could fix it."

"No! It's broken, so let's just leave it that way," Terralyn scowled. "Besides, if you hadn't broken it I wouldn't have seen the lo-" she broke off. _Oops._ She thought.

"The lo- the what?" Neptune's face broke into understanding. "Wait, are you talking about a locket?"

"Yes," Terralyn said reluctantly.

"Is it a gold one?"

"Yes."

"You didn't touch it, did you?"

"Umm…."

"Did you take it?"

Silence.

"You took it, didn't you!" Neptune's face grew flushed and he started to grow taller. "You shouldn't have taken it! It's not yours to take!"

"Well it was there, I saw it, so I took it." Terralyn smiled weakly. "Monkey see, Monkey do." She joked half-heartedly.

"GIVE IT BACK!" Neptune roared. He looked panicked and shaken. Terralyn was shocked to see him get angry over such a small thing as a locket.

"Why? What's so special about it?"

"IT'S MINE!" he snarled. He shook her violently. She shoved away from him, her hands clenched into fists.

"Stop it! Stop it!" Terralyn yelled. "Why do you have to always ruin everything?!" she broke away from him and ran into the gardens.

"Shit," Neptune calmed down, shrinking to his normal size. He sat down on the edge of the fountain and put his head in his hands. "She's right you know," he whispered. "You always ruin everything."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"I will not cry. I will not cry. I will not cry!" Terralyn mumbled. She was standing in the middle of a forgotten garden, staring up at the stars, blinking fast to keep tears from coming. She fingered the locket at her throat gingerly. _Why does he have to be so-so- __**mean?! **_A wave of anger washed over her. _I didn't even do anything! _ The stars blurred back into focus, and the wave of anger left her as quickly as it had come. Now she felt very alone, and very stupid. Her emotional outbursts always made her feel embarrassed, and left her questioning her sanity. She knew without a doubt that hormones were to blame. She cracked a small smile, remembering how she and her mother would get into huge fights, and then apologize a few days later, joking about mood swings and hormones.

A snap came from behind her, alerting her to another presence. She walked towards the noise, hoping it was Neptune come to apologize.

The shadow stepped closer to her, and a smile flashed in the dark.

"Hello, Miss Terralyn," he said. Terralyn jumped, startled.

"Jack!" she exclaimed, feeling uneasy. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said teasingly. "I'm here to enjoy the party. Are you having a good time?"

"Does it look like I'm having a good time?" she snapped. "I'm by myself in the middle of the night in an abandoned garden!"

"Hmm, yes I can see that," Jack said. "Care to share your woes?"

"Not with you." Terralyn snapped again. She had never liked Jack, and now he was getting on her nerves. _He talks like Neptune_, she thought. _He doesn't talk like a human guy… wait a minute-_

Suddenly he grabbed a hold of her hair, clamping his other hand over her mouth.

"Now now, don't fret. I am not going to hurt you," he purred in her ear. She struggled violently, kicking and punching, but he seemed to flit around her as if he were made of air.

_Oh god,_ she thought. _Oh god, help me._ If she had not been panicked she would have laughed out loud. She was praying to god while a god was kidnapping her. How ironic.

Terralyn felt her legs and arms being bound together by invisible rope- at least she thought it was invisible rope, but it could have been air for all she knew. Jack-who-was-actually-a-god tied a gag around her and stepped away from her, dusting his hands off. A self-satisfying smirk appeared on his face as he surveyed his work.

Just then a voice seemed to slither through the darkness, startling the girl and her attacker.

"What's this?" the voice murmured.

"Venus!" the god shouted. "What are you doing here?"

"I suspect I am here for the same reason you are, dear Mercury," Venus purred from the shadows.

_So that's who he is,_ Terralyn thought. _Mercury, God of thieves. Hmph. How appropriate._

"I have strict orders to bring back the girl." Venus purred.

"As do I."

"I do not care about you," Venus waved her hand loftily. "And I care not for the wench, but orders are orders."

"You cannot have her," Mercury snapped. "I captured her, she's mine."

"You truly are pathetic, you know," Venus laughed throatily. "You insist that the game should be fair yet you cheat when no one is looking."

"As do you," Mercury snapped. He picked up a startled looking Terralyn and lugged her over his shoulder. She struggled wildly, making Mercury grimace.

Venus slid up to him and ran her hands over his muscles.

"Are you sure that you do not want to give her to me?" she purred. Terralyn could feel the magic radiating off of her. Mercury's pupils grew large, and his body tensed.

"You cannot have her."

"If you give her to me, I can give you what your body so badly craves," she leaned close so her breath tickled his ear. "And more."

"I- well-" he snapped out of his reverie. "No!" he yelled, shoving her away. He sprouted the wings from his sandals and took off into the night.

"Slut," he muttered to himself.

And although Terralyn hated Mercury with every fiber of her being, she was inclined to agree with him on that one.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** hey guys! Sorry I took so long to update. I got some pretty bad reviews (well actually only one review) that kind of got me down for awhile, but then I realized that I should just take it as constructive criticism and get on with my life. Anyways, my email stopped working for a few days, so I did not reply to any reviews, but I will reply to them here. Just to warn you this story is up on both fictionpress and fanfiction, so there are reviewers from both sites!

**Porkypick:** mmhmm yes well everyone knows how much u like lemons….

**Simplegrl007: **sorry about that. She has blue eyes. I guess I just spaced out while I was writing that… meh. Oh well. No one likes Venus, poor girl. And there you go! I gave you an argument! Lol you were so right, they were getting along to well…

**Niftyness19:** oh well, things always go downhill in my stories. Lucky for u guys, this story is not a tragedy like the last one I wrote.

**Animals are my LIFE:** why are you so surprised heather wants Lemon???? She's a sick little kid (don't tell her I said that)

**Mariacin:** aww don't insult Venus its not her fault she's well…. A sl ut. Oh wait it is her fault. Nevermind.

**Ihaconch:** what's sad is I do know what they are… but im still not going to do Lemon

**Nosilla:** lemon is when a guy, and a girl, you know…. clears throat awkwardly yah. Don't worry I'm not doing Lemon in the story.

**Bordeauxdaffodill:** I always take my reviewers suggestions into consideration and you're happened to be a god one so I took it and modified it a bit ;)

**Leah:** a yes, my dear flame reviewer. I'm sorry you were so disappointed with my story.

I know it can get corny but bear with me; it will get better. And just because I ask my reviewers what they think does not mean I do what they say. I just take their ideas into consideration that's all. And if you didn't like my story, why did you read it all the way through???

**Kana07:** I'm glad you're excited, but beware- my stories so far have had sad endings… it all depends on what mood I'm in when I finish the story.

**ReflectedIrony:** SORRY!! I'm not making fun of people who wear eyeliner- heck, I wear eyeliner. I'm making fun of the people who wear raccoon eyeliner, avril lavigne style! Forgive me!

**Ks**: thanks for ur reviews! And yes, you were right about the kidnapping. It was a bit obvious I guess.

**Elfish Suicide: **read the review reply for Nosilla, above.

**Manifest-Destiny-x X:** Yah Pete cracks me up too- he's just so ordinary in such an unordinary place.

Anyways, let me know what u think of this story so far, and in which direction you think it should go!!! Should Neptune rescue Terralyn, or should Terralyn rescue herself??? Hmm that's a toughie…


	9. Chapter 9

A scrawny stick-thin elf slithered into the room, and set down a tray of food on a small table by the door. She glanced around the room quickly, searching for the occupant. There, sleeping on the bed was a very ordinary looking teenage girl.

The elf maid was shocked. An unknown girl was residing in the best guest chamber in the whole palace. How shocking! And a human to boot! What delicious gossip she had to pass onto her friends. Perhaps the girl was Mars' recent lover…

The girl stirred, turning over to face the door. Her hair was knotted and tangled in her face, and her eyes fluttered, indicating she was on the edge between the world of sleep and the world of the living. The maid slipped out of the room and shut the door quietly, and raced down the hall to tell her friends the exciting news.

Meanwhile, Terralyn struggled to hang onto her unconsciousness, knowing full well that the stark blankness of sleep was a better option to the real world. Unfortunately, the smell of spices from the breakfast tray was penetrating her mind- and stomach- and her eyes drifted open, and widened in shock.

"What the-" Terralyn broke off, glancing about the room frantically. She had expected to be locked up in some kind of dungeon- something out of her worst nightmares. But this- this was living like royalty. The room she now sat in was rich in everything from solid oak floors to cream colored furniture, stained glass windows to gold framed mirrors. It was a room fit for a princess.

After taking in the room, and trying the door (only to find it locked) Terralyn focused her eyes on the breakfast plate. She eyed it wearily, wondering if it was poisoned, but her legs carried her over to it and she ate it without protest. Food was definitely one of her weaknesses. Swallowing the last bite, she walked over to the window and searched for one that opened- there was none.

She instantly felt trapped, and her mind clouded as she fought dizziness. Never had she felt more claustrophobic. She had to get out of this room.

She pounded her fists on the door.

"LET ME OUT!" she yelled furiously. "HELP! LET ME OUT!"

"I suggest you shut your trap," a smart voice spat from outside her door. "Some of us are trying to sleep."

"Jack!" Terralyn yelled. "Please open the door! I can't stand this! There's only small windows and they won't open and I need them to open and I feel trapped I can't breathe oh please god help me PLEASE OPEN THE DOOR!"

"I'll talk to Mars about it," Jack said lazily. "Be right back."

Terralyn scowled at the door in frustration. Her face broke out in a sweat as she waited for her lifeline to come back.

When he did come back, he did not sound pleased.

"Jupiter has changed your windows so they will open," he said. "Against my suggestion, I might add."

"Thanks, Jack," she said, running over to open her window. To her dismay they only opened half way; not even a determined girl could wiggle her way out.

"Now, let me sleep," Jack said crossly. "And by the way, my name is not Jack. In case you have not figured it out, I am a god, and my name is Mercury, and you shall address me as such."

Terralyn bit her tongue to stop the complaint from coming. She had known he was a god, though she had not known which one till that moment.

"Get some sleep, grouch," she snapped her feelings of gratefulness forgotten.

"Nice to talk to you to," Mercury said cordially. Then his voice hardened. "I advise you not speak in such a disrespectful manner again, Miss Terralyn. You are on our turf now, and if you so much as insult us, we can crush you like the insignificant bug you are. Do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Terralyn grated her teeth and listened to his stepped as he sauntered away. She made her way over to the full length mirror, and looked herself up and down, taking in her shriveled appearance.

"What am I going to do?" she asked the image in the mirror. Her image stared back at her blankly. A glint of light caught her eye, and she stared at the locket that hung around her neck with a sick feeling. Her thoughts returned to last night.

_Why was he so mad about the locket?_ She thought. Then she got angry. _Why did he have to get so violent? Why couldn't he explain things to me? He doesn't trust me. He never has. He doesn't love me. If he did, I wouldn't be in this mess. _She lifted the locket off of her neck and shoved it into a drawer, slamming it venomously. _Stupid locket. It ruined everything- everything!_

But something nibbled at the back of her mind.

_Maybe it's not the locket's fault,_ her inner voice said.

"Shut up,"

_Maybe it's not his fault…_

"Shut. Up."

_Maybe it's your fault._

"SHUT UP!"

_You trusted him too much, loved him too much. _

"That's not true! Just shut up!" Terralyn yelled. Then she broke down laughing. "Oh my god. I'm talking to myself. I'm going crazy. I'm going friggin' insane!" she laughed some more hysterical laughs. "What would Neptune think if he saw me now?!"

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN SHE'S NOT HERE?!" Neptune roared, his voice bouncing off the high ceiling. Pete cringed in front of his throne, staring up at him pleadingly.

"Your Majesty, I've searched everywhere," Pete pleaded. "There's no sign of her!"

"WELL SEARCH SOME MORE!" Neptune yelled.

"Yes your Majesty," Pete scurried out of the room as fast as he could.

Neptune scowled and ran his hands through his hair. He grabbed his scrying bowl and shook it violently. "Show me the girl!"

His face stared back at him in the clear water, taunting him. Neptune turned away, disgusted. Something must be very wrong. There was no way Terralyn could hide from his scrying.

_Unless-_

Neptune let out a string of curses, slamming his hands down onto a small table, cracking it into four pieces.

He knew what happened to Terralyn, and he knew that it was his entire fault.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Miss," a couple of elves entered her room and shut the door behind them. Two of them carried a large basin filled with steaming water. "We have been requested to get you dressed for a meeting with his most High Majesty." Terralyn nodded mutely, standing up from the chair by the window. She watched as the elves exchanged knowing looks, and one of them struggled to hide a laugh. Terralyn flushed angrily but said nothing, allowing them to clean her in the basin. They dressed her in a plain blue gown and brushed her hair to the point where it shone. Then, after exchanging another knowing look, they left. Terralyn breathed out a sigh of relief as the last elf left the room and shut the door behind her.

Moments later a knock came at the door.

"I am to escort you to the Main Study," Mercury said, sounding bored. Terralyn scowled at the door and watched as Mercury opened it slowly. He gestured for her to step outside. Terralyn's scowl deepened.

"Why do I have to go to the main study?" she asked.

"Mars' orders," Mercury said. "Now let's go before he gets angry."

_Mars is the god of war,_ Terralyn thought absent mindedly. She remembered vaguely that Mars was said to have a huge temper, one bigger then Neptune's. She debated not going at all, but realized that this was her chance to get answers, and so she strolled quickly out the door in Mercury's wake.

"What's going on? Why am I here?" Terralyn glared at him viciously. "Why did you kidnap me?"

"Save your inquiries for Mars, puny one," Mercury sneered. "Just do not anger him if you wish to live."

Well _that_ certainly shut her up. They walked along the white corridors at a brisk pace in complete silence, finally reaching the door. Mercury gave her a look that clearly said '_Behave.'_ But she ignored him and pushed the door open, stepping into what she assumed was the main study, considering it was full of book shelves.

Instantly her eye was drawn to the one occupant, and the rest of the room was ignored. Mars sat on a chair, his legs up on the desk. He agitatedly played with a sheathed knife as he stared blankly at the wall. Everything about him was rough and severe- his face was very angular, his nose sharp, his hands boney and his dark hair a buzz cut. Even his muscles- which Terralyn could see as he was only wearing a thin white shirt- were well defined.

_He looks like GI Joe! _Terralyn thought. A smile escaped her before she could help it, but as soon as she looked into his deep, dark, bottomless eyes, all her laughter disappeared.

"Good afternoon, Miss Terralyn," he said coolly. His eyes were fixed on her as his hands played with his knife. "I trust your rooms are adequate."

"Hey," Terralyn greeted awkwardly. "Umm… the room's okay I guess. I was expecting something more… dungeon like," she paused then said hurriedly. "Not that I _want_ a dungeon room. It's just, there are only small windows so I can hardly see anything… but it's still a nice room I guess." She was so nervous she was babbling, which was utterly ridiculous considering she had confronted a god before and not been scared in the slightest. But this man- this god- he radiated power and violence. In other words, he scared Terralyn shitless.

"I see," Mars said quietly.

"Well, I'd like to have a balcony if it isn't too much too ask," Terralyn said. She saw his suspicious look. "So I can look out at the beautiful land that surrounds your castle, of course."

"Of course," Mars echoed his eyes unreadable. "A woman such as yourself should enjoy the beauty around her. I will give you a balcony at once."

_Ah, so he's _**that** _kind of male,_ Terralyn thought. _The one who thinks woman are soft delicate porcelain-like creatures. Well, might as well play up to it._

"I would greatly appreciate it," she gave him a sweet smile. "Especially if I'm going to stay here long." She glanced nervously at Mars, but if he noticed she was deliberately fishing for information, he did not show it.

"You will be here as long as needed," he promised. "You are free to roam the castle as much as you please."

"Thank you. That is very thoughtful," she said, playing up her new sweet-little-girl role.

"If you are in need of a companion, you may visit Mercury. His rooms are across from yours."

"Thank you. I get so lonely sometimes," Terralyn said, trying to look distraught. "May I ask when I will return home?"

"As soon as a compromise is made with dear Neptune," Mars said. "A war is brewing in the air, so it may take some time before I decide what to do with you."

"I see," Terralyn paused, wringing her hands like a desperate female. "Well, thank you for your concern. I-" she broke off. The chandelier above her head was twinkling, almost as if it was an alarm. Then the whole building started trembling as violent crashes were heard from outside. Mars leaped to his feet, and strolled to the large window. He surveyed the grounds silently, his hands clasped behind his back. Hi gaze was calculating, one of a born commander.

"This is why you are not to go outside," he said. "A war is going on between my people and Jupiter's. A strong protection has been placed around the building, but it could break at any time," he paused. "Therefore when you are out on the balcony, be extremely cautious. I would hate for anything to happen to a defenseless female such as yourself."

_I'm going to pretend he didn't just insult me,_ Terralyn thought. She itched to insult him back, but she realized that insulting him would ruin her role as the defenseless female.

"What will I do if the castle is invaded," she tried to look scared. Really, she was just fishing for information, perhaps a way out- a secret passage, anything.

"Do not trouble yourself," Mars snapped. He whirled from the window and stared into her eyes. Terralyn felt as if she were drowning in black ink. "Now, I suggest you return to your room, Miss Terralyn."

"Thank you, your Majesty," she curtsied, her eyes cast down modestly. Then she strolled away as if she were taking a walk on a summer's day. Really she was shaking all over.

"So, how did it go?" Mercury smirked.

"That guy is intense," Terralyn said, stressing the two syllables of the word 'intense'. She shook out her hands, only realizing now that she had been clutching her hands together so tightly that she had left red marks on her palms. The last thing she wanted to do was talk with snarky Mercury, but she figured he was her only source of information now. "What's this war about anyway?"

"Oh, Mars insulted Jupiter," Mercury waved his hand lazily. "Or Jupiter insulted Mars- I'm not to sure. The gods have all taken sides, all except our good friend Neptune. Now Jupiter has sent out all his followers, including his sons- whom he had many- and Mars has sent out all his followers. Right now they are battling particularly close to this palace, and so they might try to break the barrier physically, which is why the palace starts to shake." He must have thought Terralyn was distressed by this news, so he rushed to reassure her. "Do not worry. The barrier cannot be broken down physically. It will only weaken a little bit."

"But isn't this a battle of the gods? Why are only the followers battling?"

"Yes it is a war of the gods. But we gods like to play games with our followers first. When our team starts loosing, we gods will start to interfere."

"You make this sound like a game," Terralyn said, horrified.

"Well, it is," Mercury said plainly.

_War is not a game. It never was, and it never will be._

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note: **FINALLY DONE! EUREKA! Wow this chapter took me a very long time, and it's not even that interesting… oh well. Okay, for review responses… here we go…

**Ihaconch:** you are definitely just as bad as Venus sticks out tongue

**Mariacin:** how do you know if I'm going to kill anybody off? Didn't I promise you guys that this would have a semi-happy ending? (unlike by candlelight…. But that was a tragedy, and really I couldn't resist.)

**Animals are my LIFE:** Mars is Junos sun? hmm…. News to me. You'll have to lend me that book. Anyways I apologize for last chapter. You see, I had Jupiter's name in there but then I decided to change it to Mars so I guess I forgot to change that one part:P

**SemixQuaver: ** Well thank you! I checked out one of your stories… my review was rather long cough sorry about that. I hope you didn't take it too offensively.

**Matsudapie:** Yes I agree, Neptune rescuing Terralyn would be romantic…. But I don't think it's in Terralyn's nature to wait around for some guy to rescue her :P we'll see.

**Ashlynn Lilacflower: **lol girl power! I'm glad someone thinks Venus is perfect for the bad guy… everyone just plain hates her.

**No-Way-Princess: **sorry bout that. A lot of my reviewers wanted lemon, so I just did a half lemon. Don't worry there won't be any more- unless kissing is considered lemon, which its not, that's just fluff

**Leah:** Well I'm glad you took the time to read my next chapter. Yes I know it's a bit cliché, this story… I can't help that lol! If you want a good read for a fairy tale, check out Raven in the Fog or True hate and True love. These two stories are pretty good, and not in the least cliché. Except, unfortunately, True hate and True love has not been updated in awhile and I find that the last chapter is really corny lol… meh what can you do.

**Bordeauxdaffodill: ** sorry it was so short…. I didn't even realize it was short at the time :P

THANKS TO ALL MY REVIEWERS! AND THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO READS THIS!!!!!!!!! So, the next question is……

Should Terralyn be kidnapped from the palace by someone from Jupiter's side? If so, then who????

-teardrop


	10. Chapter 10

When Terralyn got back to her room, she was pleased to see that Mars had indeed kept his promise and given her a balcony. Smirking slightly, she eased herself over to the door and stepped out onto the balcony, taking a deep breath of fresh air. She took in the landscape with wide eyes- bare fields led up to a stone wall that stretched around the castle, and beyond that, a forest as far as the eye could see. The land around the castle was utterly quiet and peaceful; no one would guess that a war was going on just outside the stone walls.

Unfortunately for Terralyn, there were no conveniently placed trees for her to climb down this time. On the plus side, the balcony was not very high above the ground. Instantly Terralyn knew what she had to do, what she _would _do, that night. It was a rather simple plan, really, and taken out of novels she had read. Those novels where the heroin gets kidnapped- and she uses bed sheets tied together to escape. This was exactly what Terralyn was going to do, and then she was going to make a run for the walls, and hope that maybe, just maybe, she could find a way out.

It was a rather bad plan, actually, but a plan nevertheless. But, of course, there is a flaw to every plan.

"Miss Terralyn!" a mocking voice said. "Just what exactly are you planning?"

"Hmm?" Terralyn glanced blankly at Mercury, who had mysteriously appeared beside her.

"You, my dear, are planning on running away," Mercury pointed out. "I have no intention of letting that happen."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Terralyn said. "You can talk to me once you've finally reached earth, okay?"

"I'll have you know that we are not technically even on earth," Mercury said. "Technically we are living in the sky _above_ earth."

"What?!"

"This land," he cast his hand out, flourishing it. "Is floating on clouds, invisible to the human eye." He sneered. "But much is invisible to humans because they do not _wish_ to see it anyway."

Terralyn glared at him angrily. "I'm human, you idi-"

"Do not insult me, Terralyn," Mercury cut her off. "I will take no responsibility for my actions if you do." As quick as he came, he disappeared. Terralyn let out a sigh of frustration, realizing her plan wouldn't work. She would have to find another way out of the castle, one hidden from the eyes of clever Mercury…

She decided to use her time usefully, by exploring the castle. After changing into a suitable, if plain, dress, she set off and soon found herself completely lost in the castle. Each hallway looked the same as the last, everything was painted white. Quite a strange color for a castle made by the god of war. Shrugging, Terralyn continued her exploration, but realized she was getting hungry.

_I'm lost and hungry,_ Terralyn sighed. _What more could go wrong?_

She cringed as soon as she thought that, remembering all the fictional characters that had said those exact words and ended up being caught in a rain storm right after. She rolled her eyes and continued walking; hoping desperately that someone would find her. But she had been walking for several hours and had not seen one person, or creature, in the whole castle.

Luck was on her side that day. The rich smell of cooked meat wafted through the air, and clattering noises could be heard in the distance. She followed the smell and the noises eagerly, finally reaching the kitchens.

She paused at the door, peering in, watching as several human servants rushed around the kitchens, preparing dinner. There wasn't very many of them, and they were all very busy. When the chef saw Terralyn standing in the doorway, he grabbed her hand and pulled her to the counter, handing her a knife and several vegetables.

"Cut," he ordered, turning back to the stove. Terralyn smiled grimly and did as she was told, wondering at how a mere change of clothes could affect how someone treated her. If she had been wearing the dress from earlier she would never have been asked to help in the kitchen. But the cook had seen her plain clothes, and had assumed she was a servant.

_Well, at least it'll make the time go by,_ she thought, sneaking a bite of food here and there when the cook wasn't looking. After dinner had been served to the gods, the servants sat down at the table to eat there own dinner. Terralyn sat with them and listened to their small talk as she ate her dinner.

"…but everyone volunteered, and now there aren't enough servants left to…" the chef was saying to his assistant.

"Aye, they be still a-fightin'. Master is still a-lookin' fer volunteers-" this comment was made by a man with orange hair and a kind smile.

"…just don't know what to do. He wants Jerome to fight. He's too young- barely a teenager. I can't let him go fight!" a woman exclaimed to her friend. The woman looked very young, about twenty years old. Perhaps the Jerome she was talking about was her brother.

Terralyn listened to this conversation intently.

"Jerome has always loved riding horses, and he wanted to visit the country palace and work at the stables there this summer. But Mars will not let him leave, and he said-" her voice broke. "He said he wanted Jerome to fight for him. I can't let him go fight! He's just a boy!"

Soon all the servants cleared out, and Terralyn was stuck with dish duty. Muttering to herself, she started to do the dishes, scrubbing each one until they were clean, but her mind was somewhere else entirely.

After asking for directions to the main guest room (she received an odd look for that one) she wandered back to her room and fell asleep as soon as her head touched the pillow.

Terralyn was rudely startled awake by a maid the next morning. The maid looked frightened as she threw together a suitable outfit for Terralyn. Without a word of explanation, the maid dressed Terralyn and left, shutting the door softly behind her. Moments later, another maid arrived at the door.

"I'm to take you to his most royal highness," she muttered, not looking Terralyn in the eye. It seemed every single servant was terrified today. Terralyn followed the maid, who ushered her into a study near the end of the hallway.

Immediately Terralyn knew why everyone was so nervous. Mars looked as if he was ready to blow up, so furious was he. His dark eyes sparkled dangerously, and his hands played with his knife quickly and agitatedly. Terralyn stood stiffly at the doorway, inwardly cringing. Mars already made her nervous, and now he was just plain scaring her.

He smiled coolly at her. "It seems your lover has decided to disappear on us," Mars said. "Not one of my messengers can find him."

"Oh." Terralyn breathed. _Maybe Neptune is coming to rescue me._ She thought.

"No matter," Mars said. "It changes nothing. You are still confined here. But, as of now, you are to work for Mercury."

Terralyn tried to keep her face neutral, but a look of dismay must have appeared on her face. Mars stood up quickly and threw his knife straight at her.

It just missed her face by an inch. Terralyn froze, her eyes widening in shock. Mars glared at her, and then flicked his hand agitatedly. The knife soared back past her ear and right into Mars' hand.

"Do I make myself clear?" he asked menacingly. Terralyn nodded and fled the room, her heart pounding wildly. She ran down the hall, past a few startled maids, and stomped into her room, slamming the door behind her. She rushed to her balcony door, but someone, perhaps a maid following Mars' orders, had locked it. After trying to wench the door open, Terralyn rested her forehead against the glass, shutting her eyes tightly.

"Please, please, please, come and save me," she begged the air. In her mind she could clearly see Neptune's handsome face, blonde hair and ocean blue eyes…

Then she pulled herself together. She was never the kind of woman to rely on a man. She knew she would escape soon, and probably never see Neptune ever again. She made her way over to the dresser, and opened the drawer. She grabbed the small gold locket she had placed in there in a fit of anger earlier. She attached the locket around her neck, and faced the mirror.

"You can do this," she told the image in the mirror. "You are strong. You can do this."

Just then a knock came at the door. Terralyn tucked the necklace under her clothes quickly.

"Oh Terralyn," a mocking voice called. Terralyn groaned and trotted to the door, opening it to face her new master.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:**sorry about the short chapter… I've started another story and I've been working on it like crazy. Already I have 12 pages typed in 3 days from scratch, plus a bunch of random scenes I've written out in my notebook. I was inspired by something Stephenie Meyer did- she started her story half way, then went back and wrote the beginning later. 'Perfect!' I thought. 'I'll just do that!' Also this story is written in first person, which is much much easier then third person….

Anyways enough about me! Let's talk about all my fabulous reviewers!

Thanks to: porkypick, Ihaconch, sweet thoughts, Viva Andromeda, No-Way-Princess, animals are my LIFE, and x-baby.doll-x and my fiction press reviewers, CountryGirl12 and WonderGurlEneth.

Love your reviews! And don't worry I wont abandon this story! I know exactly whats going to happen… well not the ending….


	11. Chapter 11

"Stupid gods. Think they can boss me around- making me call him 'Master'- then forcing me to care for his stupid horse- freakin ridiculous. I hope he dies all alone in a hole surrounded by vultures." Terralyn grumbled as she made her way over to the stables. Previously Mercury had ordered her to clean up his horse. He had made it very clear that if Terralyn messed up, accidentally or on purpose, he would not pause to inform Mars of her disobedience. So, with a stiff lip and her chin up in the air, Terralyn had had to suck up her pride and bow to the prick, and say in a very polite voice 'yes Master'.

She entered the stables, closing the side door behind her. The stables were completely deserted. She walked down the isle in the middle of the stable, inspecting the gold name plates stuck on the doors of the stalls. "Temptation. Brawn. Lovebird. Utterly ridiculous names, even for horses!" Terralyn said to the air.

"Can I help you?" a voice asked. Terralyn looked away from the current nameplate she was reading, and smiled uncertainly at a boy standing before her. He was dressed in breeches and a dirty looking shirt. Both items of clothing were much too large for him, and full of patches and worn through spots. He was wiping his hands carefully on a cloth, and he surveyed her with curious eyes. He looked a bit younger than her, just entering his teens.

"Hi," Terralyn said. "My name's Terralyn." She stuck out her hand, and he shook it, grinning.

"I'm Jerome," he said. Terralyn jumped a little, startled. He was the boy the desperate female had been talking about in the kitchens.

"I'm here to groom Mercury's horse," she said, her voice unconcerned. "And to muck out his stall."

"Right this way," Jerome said, leading her down the isle. "Have you cared for horses before?" Terralyn shook her head. "Have you ridden a horse? No?" he paused. "I guess I have a few minutes I can spare…"

He stopped in front of a stall labeled 'Quicksilver'.

"This is Mercury's horse." Terralyn nodded, glancing at the great stead in awe. It was a huge beast, and its coat was pure white, so white it seemed to sparkle. Jerome opened the stall and led the horse out, coaxing him along. When he stood in the middle of the isle, Jerome tied his bridle securely to a handle on the nearest beam. The horse pranced nervously, then to Terralyn's shock, a pair of beautiful white-feathered wings sprouted from its back and flared out, allowing the horse to rise several feet off the ground. Terralyn gasped and tripped away, its hooves just missing her head, and fell straight onto her butt. Jerome stifled what sounded like a snort, and then he gently grabbed the horse's bridle and pulled him down, muttering soothingly in his ear. The horse nipped his hair softly, and then calmed down, coming to a complete stand still, its wings safely folded onto its back.

After he had calmed down the horse, Jerome grabbed a box from a shelf near the door and opened it carefully. It was full of all kinds of instruments -several types of brushes, combs and other things. He beckoned to Terralyn, who had gotten up off the ground and brushed the dirt off of her. Terralyn wandered over to him, eyeing the horse wearily. The majestic horse seemed perfectly calm, obviously comfortable around Jerome.

"This is called a curry comb," Jerome held up a black spiky looking brush. "Use this first, and move it in circles across his coat. Use it everywhere but his face and legs." Terralyn nodded. Next he held up a brush with bristles. "This is the dandy brush. Use this second, and move it in small strokes everywhere but his face and legs. And lastly is the soft brush. Move this brush softly across the horse in long strokes, use it everywhere, even on his face and legs. Did you catch all that?"

"Sure," Terralyn said, although she hadn't really. "What are the rest of those tools used for?" she asked, gesturing towards his tool box. He pulled out a long pointy thing, then gestured to the horses hooves.

"Use a hoof pick to pick out any dirt around the frog. The frog is the V in the middle of the hoof- don't touch it, it's very soft and tender. Don't worry about the tail, but use this comb to brush out his mane. Can you handle it?"

"Umm…" Terralyn broke off. "Maybe you could help me? Just this one time?"

Jerome smiled and nodded. "Alright. But I expect you to this on your own after this."

"You mean I'll have to do this again?" Terralyn asked, appalled. Jerome frowned at her. "Horses need to be kept clean and groomed. You'll be expected to do this regularly." Terralyn stifled a groan and picked up the first brush.

"So what do I do with this again?" she asked helplessly.

When the horse was cleaned up, and the stall mucked out (courtesy of Jerome, since nothing he could say could make Terralyn do it), Terralyn thanked Jerome and left the stables. She decided maybe she'd take a walk and check out the rest of the grounds.

"Where are you going, my darling?" cooed a smooth voice. Terralyn resisted the urge to slap Mercury as she turned around and faced him. He smirked at her, his head tilted to the side.

"Nowhere," Terralyn muttered, which only made Mercury smirk harder.

"So you won't mind running down to the kitchens, will you?" he waved his hand. "Go on. Fetch me some wine."

"Fine," Terralyn said, attempting to walk past him. His hand shot out and gripped her arm painfully.

"Have you forgotten what I have said about using proper titles, Terralyn?" he asked sweetly, his eyes twinkling dangerously.

"Enlighten me," Terralyn muttered. He shook her a bit forcefully. "I will fetch you some wine, Master," she said dutifully.

"Very good," he said, releasing his grip. "Bring the wine to my bedroom, slave."

Terralyn winced at the word 'slave', wishing with all her might that he would drop dead. But of course, he didn't, so she set out to the kitchens.

Terralyn lingered in the doorway of the kitchens, and once again the women who Terralyn supposed was Jerome's brother could be heard as she fretted loudly.

"He's calling for every single able man and boy to meet in the courtyard tonight," she said tearfully. "I don't want Jerome to go! He's too young!" she wailed. A bunch of the kitchen staff surrounded her, muttering comforting words. A plan began to form in Terralyn's mind. Before she could think it through properly, the chef spotted Terralyn, and gave her a dangerous look.

"Sorry," she simpered. "I'm now Mercury's personal maid- you know how temperamental he is. He asked me to bring him some wine."

The chef gave her a look akin to pity, and then passed her a bottle of red wine and a wine glass. "Good luck," he muttered. "That man's a difficult one to please."

Terralyn walked slowly from the kitchen and made her way back to Mercury's rooms. She steeled herself as she knocked on his door, wondering what he was going to order her to do next.

"Come in," he called. "And close the door behind you."

Terralyn did as she was told and set the wine down on the small side table beside the door. Mercury was sprawled out on the couch, smirking at her.

"Poor the wine," he said, smiling wider. Terralyn scowled, but turned to do as she was told. She passed him the goblet, and his eyes twinkled merrily at her as he drank the wine. Obviously he was enjoying her servitude. "More," he said, indicating his now empty glass. Terralyn snatched the glass away from him and strolled to the door. She filled it up and strolled back, handing him the glass.

"Now, sit beside me, my pet, and give me a foot message."

Terralyn's mouth fell open, emitting a tiny squeak. She could not imagine anything worse then messaging _his_ filthy feet. Mercury wiggled his toes and smirked at her dangerously.

"Shall I tell Mars you have been disobeying me?" Terralyn stifled a groan and knelt at his feet. Resisting the urge to gag, she reached over and poked his foot, then poked it again. Finally she staggered back, leaning as far away from him as she could.

"I'm sorry. I can't do this," she gasped.

"What a useless slave you are!" he said mockingly. "Although there is something else you can do for me…"

"What?" Terralyn's eyes were wide as she sat at his feet. He reached down and played with her hair, rubbing it between his fingers. His eyes dared her to challenge him.

"Come here tonight, and I'll show you," he whispered, leaning towards her. "Now, my pretty, you are dismissed for the evening- be back here by night fall. Am I clear?"

"Yes," she said, shivering. She backed out of the room, knowing exactly what Mercury had in mind for tonight. Then she fled down the hallway, away from her rooms. It was now more crucial then ever that she escape this place. But how was she going to manage that?

She headed to the kitchens, and approached Jerome's sister. "I need to speak with you," Terralyn whispered. "Alone."

She shot Terralyn a suspicious look, but followed her outside into the hallway anyways.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"I want to speak with you about Jerome," I said. "I have a plan to keep him from going to war- just hear me out please." Jerome's sister nodded condescendingly. "Basically, I want us- Jerome and me- to switch places. I'll dress as a stable boy and claim I'm Jerome, and he can dress as a girl and work in the kitchens, under the pretense that he's your cousin."

"Wait- what?" clearly she wasn't the brightest crayon in the box.

"I want us to change places so Jerome won't go to war," Terralyn repeated. "Will you help me?"

"Yes, of course," the poor girl looked a bit overwhelmed. "But what's in this for you?"

"I get to escape this place," Terralyn said grimly. "Now listen- I need you to give me one of your working dresses for Jerome."

"But-"

"Please, we don't have time for questions. Just get me the clothes. I will wait here." Nodding, the girl scampered off into the darkness. Moments later she returned with a bundle of clothes in her hand.

"Will these do?" she asked. Terralyn simply nodded and turned on her heel, swiftly dashing down the hallway. Time was running out.

"Come on!" Terralyn yelled over her shoulder. The girl followed, scampering after her.

Terralyn found Jerome in the stables, mucking out yet another stall. He passed his hand over his sweaty forehead and gave a slightly forced smile.

"What brings you here?" he asked, glancing at Terralyn, then at his sister.

"I need you to put these on," she said, holding up the servant's dress. Jerome gave her an odd look.

"What?!"

"We're switching places," Terralyn said patiently. "I'll disguise myself as you so you don't have to go to war. You'll stay here, working in the kitchen, disguised as a girl. I know it's not the same as the stables, but I'm sure that once this war is over you'll be given your job back."

"Umm- Uh-" he broke off, gulping. "I mean- what?!"

"Just put these on, and give her your clothes," Jerome's sister snapped. Jerome did so, and Terralyn put on his clothes in the privacy of a small closet located near the back of the stables.

"Do you have a bandage? Maybe from a medical kit?" she called. Jerome slipped a long bandage under the door and Terralyn wrapped it around her chest, tying it securely. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable thing in the world but it would have to do.

She stepped out from the closet and passed Jerome a scarf she had had tied around her neck this morning. "Wrap this around your head- it will disguise your short hair better, although your hair is pretty long for a guy…" Terralyn paused, fingering her own hair. "Do you have a knife?"

Jerome looked taken aback, and then reached into his pocket, retrieving a decent looking knife. Terralyn gathered her hair into one hand. "Cut it off," she ordered, ignoring Jerome's sister's gasp. Jerome paused, but only for a second, before cutting it off. The rest of her hair fell around her head in a jagged cut that was suitable for a lowly servant. Terralyn bent down and scooped some dirt off the ground, and rubbed it all over her arms, her face and her legs. She turned back to Jerome and his sister and smiled at them.

"How do I look?" they both gaped openly at her. "Now, I'm sure the kitchen staff won't question him showing up," Terralyn prodded her finger towards Jerome while speaking directly to his sister. "It seems they're pretty desperate for staff..."

The sister nodded, and smiled. "Thank you so much," she said hugging her brother, who was still confused about what exactly, was going on.

"Bye," Terralyn said. She tucked her cut off hair into a pile of horse dung, and then smiled at the two siblings reassuringly.

"Best of luck," the girl said, watching as Terralyn scampered away.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** So sorry I haven't updated in so long! I was reading the new harry potter book…. And writing my new story. (No-Way-Princess, my new story is **not **the sequel to By Candlelight. It's a new story…)

About my other story- By Candlelight- don't expect anything too soon. I still have to edit that whole story (I cringe just thinking about that), although I do have a fantastic idea for the sequel, it'll take some time for it to be fully developed and then typed up…

Anyways, a special thanks to my reviewer porkypick who helped me out with all the horse knowledge (thankyouthankyouthankyou!) and also to my other reviewers Ihaconch, No-Way-Princess, Animals are my LIFE, Viva Andromeda, and legolasEstelstar. I love all your reviews!!!!!!!! They're what really keeps this story going!!!!

Now…a question…because we all want to know what exactly Neptune has been doing all this time…

Should he

show up to rescue Terralyn only to find that she has escaped

join the other side to fight against Mars, who has taken Terralyn from him

-teardrop


	12. Chapter 12

_This won't be so bad,_ Terralyn thought as she joined a huge line up leading into the courtyard. After long minutes of waiting, she reached the front of the line.

"Name?" the bored clerk asked, his pen poised over his paper.

"Jerome."

"Status?"

"Huh?" Terralyn asked, confused. The clerk rolled his eyes.

"Your job at the palace," he said, by way of explanation. Terralyn blushed and looked at the ground.

"I'm a stable hand," she muttered.

"I'm sorry, we already have more then enough stable hands to manage the horses," the clerk said. Looking past Terralyn, he yelled "Next!"

"Wait," Terralyn said sternly, her blush gone. Her eyes twinkled in furry. "I can fight, too."

"You? Fight?" he looked her up and down and let out a snotty laugh. "Not a chance. You're too scrawny."

"I can fight," Terralyn repeated, more fiercely. The clerk rolled his eyes and scribbled something down on the paper, and handed it to Terralyn.

"Next," he said again, and Terralyn zipped past him. After reading the paper over, she let out a groan. Written neatly in ink near the bottom of the page were the worst possible words she could imagine.

'_Assignment: Clean up boy'_

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Explain this to me again, Neptune," Jupiter said lazily, stretched out across his throne.

"I will fight for you, on two conditions," Neptune said, standing with his back to Jupiter and staring out the window. His hands were clasped loosely behind his back, but his stance was tense, like a tiger ready to spring at any moment. "Firstly-"

"You want the girl," Jupiter interrupted. "Are you certain that Mars has her?"

"Not entirely. I can not see her in my scrying bowl- Mars' palace is so coated with magic that it is impossible for me to see. But one of my subjects has admitted to seeing Mercury lurk around the palace the night Terralyn was kidnapped." His frown deepened. "There was also reported sightings of Venus as well, but I have searched your palace thoroughly, and she is not here, so I assume those were false.

"My second condition is very simple; I do not wish to fight against the other gods. Once the heavy fighting starts, I wish to be allowed to leave your service, head back to my home, and not be disturbed. Am I making myself clear?"

Jupiter said nothing, but his eyes twinkled as he contemplated his new recruit. "Of course you know the real reason we- that is, Mars and I- wanted you to join both our sides…"

"The Triton," Neptune exhaled, his shoulders sagging. "So that's what this is all about."

"If you want your human back, that is _my_ condition."

"I see." Neptune stared out the window. "This could cause more difficulty then it is worth."

"Is that so?"

"When a god needs it the most, the Triton will appear." Neptune said. "He who wields it with wisdom will receive only the best results. He who wields it with ignorance will perish."

"Why must you annoy me with riddles?" Jupiter snapped. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"Perhaps you will figure it out someday," Neptune smiled to himself secretively. Jupiter snarled and leaped out of his seat, ready to attack his brother.

"To put this bluntly, you do not want to fight someone who is on your side." Neptune pointed out. Jupiter considered his words, and seeing as he did not lack brains, he collapsed back onto his throne, his fists clenched.

"So… you will allow me to use the Triton, if I find the girl, and let you go home after the war without a fuss."

"Essentially, yes."

Jupiter stuck out his hand. "You have yourself a deal." Neptune glared at him, taking a step closer to the throne.

"Do you swear?"

"On my honor." They shook hands, Jupiter smiling gleefully.

"How will you find her?" Neptune asked.

"All in good time," Jupiter smiled, completely relaxed. Neptune frowned at him fervently. "Don't worry, she's fine."

"You know where she is?" Neptune asked, clenching his fists. "How? It's not possible-"

"Do you think me such a fool that I would not have spies in _his _palace?" Jupiter spat, standing up, his whole body quivering with rage. Neptune shook his head and held up his hands peacefully, his eyes almost pleading.

"Tell me- how is she?" he asked softly. Jupiter stared at him for a fraction of a second, and then smiled cruelly.

"Venus was right…" he trailed off. "She's fine- in fact she has managed to escape Mars' palace quite easily."

"She escaped?" Neptune looked shocked, but not entirely surprised. "How in the oceans name did she manage that?"

"She joined up with _his_ army," Jupiter spat.

"WHAT?!" Neptune grew a fraction of an inch, and stayed there.

"Precisely. I don't know the exact details- but she left with them a few hours ago, and she's marching with them to the battle field at this moment in time."

Neptune kept his face carefully blank, but his eyes were dark and his fists clenched tightly behind him.

"I may be able to save her when I take the new recruits to the battle field in two days time. I'm sure I will be able to pick her out of the crowd.

"You do not know what she looks like." Neptune pointed out, his fists still clenched. His eyes darkened even more, and then he bowed stiffly.

"May I ask your permission to march with you and your new recruits in two days time."

"You will fight?"

"No."

"As you wish," Jupiter sighed. He studied Neptune carefully. "Do you really love this girl?"

"That is none of your business, brother," Neptune said stiffly.

"You seem to be willing to go to great lengths to save her." Jupiter paused. "She's just a puny human, after all."

"She is _not_ just a **'**_**puny human'**_" Neptune spat, then stormed out of the room before he could loose his temper.

Jupiter watched him leave appraisingly, and then returned to his throne. He tapped his finger elegantly, thinking about what his brother had just said. "See, what did I tell you?" Venus purred from the darkness behind Jupiter's throne. She slinked up to him and stood in front of him, a smirk carved into her beautiful features. Jupiter smiled absentmindedly at her, but his thoughts were clearly elsewhere.

_He'll do anything to protect his little human…_

"Of course," he whispered, answering his own thoughts more then Venus' question. He grinned wickedly and Venus mirrored his grin.

"Will you need my help with anything?" she asked, smiling seductively.

Jupiter refused to take the bait. "Not until the fighting starts. But I have a plan for our friend Neptune…"

Venus pouted. "Why do I not get to be a part of it?"

Jupiter smiled. "Actually, you can help me with something. Keep an eye on Neptune. Watch everything he does. I would hate for him to walk out on our agreement."

"Of course," Venus nodded.

"It is almost dinner time, is it not?" he asked. She nodded, and stepped aside as he stood up from his throne.

"Shall we?" they linked arms and waltzed out of the room.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** Okay I am really really_ really_ sorry for taking so long to update. And I know this is my shortest chapter yet- only two and a half pages. GASP! The horror! But, well, I've been reading Eclipse (almost done! I'm saving the last chapter for tomorrow, and the suspense is killing me) and then I was away for a few days and then I was working on my Sandman story…. In short, I've been very very busy.

**Thanks to my reviewers!:** Technicolor yawn, Bumblebee, Sara, Viva Andromeda, stagflower13, porkypick, Ihaconch, Animals are my LIFE, bordeauxdaffodill, No-way-princess, and Aurora. Also, my fiction press reviewers: Carmel March, Tigerlilium, and Elizabeth Newman. **THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!!!!** I think this is the most reviewers I've ever had for one chapter!

Alright, here's the big question:

Should Terralyn either

desert the army, which leads to her running into Jupiter's new recruits

fight for Mars' army, but end up getting injured, and is found by Jupiter

Sorry again for the lousy update. Please review!

-teardrop


	13. Chapter 13

"Hey, runt!" a voice yelled in her ear. Terralyn winced and spun around, glaring. She had been marching with the army for only one day and already she had acquired a nickname. Already, she was second guessing her plan. But of course, it was too late, and she had been warned about deserting. The captain did a head count every morning (so she had been told) and then, of course, Captain Vil had already given a speech to the new recruits before they had left.

_"I know not a lot of you are here by choice," Captain Vil had begun, pacing in front of the yawning crowd of new soldiers. "But that doesn't mean you can slack off. You each have a duty assigned to you. Those of you who are fighters will have to be trained on the way to the battle ground. Those of you marked for doctors or a doctor assistant must be trained as well. Unfortunately, training takes time, and time is something we don't have. You will be taught the main principles, and that is all. The rest you will learn through experience." He paused, taking a deep breath. "As for the rest of you, you will be doing minor tasks; cooking, cleaning, helping with the horses, every little thing helps. Don't think that because you weren't marked as a fighter means you won't be fighting; there will be many attacks and raids that you will undoubtedly participate in._

_"Now that that is settled, I'll lay down the rules for you. First, always do what your told, and do not question it. As I mentioned before, time is something we don't have, so don't waste it for something as trivial as an argument. Those who disobey will be punished. Second, always do your share of the work without question. Slacking is also a waste of time. Third, I don't care how scared you are, you ARE NOT to desert this army. Any deserters will be killed immediately, without question. Is that clear?"_

_His voice resounded strongly around the courtyard. Terralyn felt her face fall; he sounded like he meant what he said, which meant she had no hope for escape._

"Hey, runt! Clean this mess up!" the man yelled again. Terralyn scowled and pulled herself up, bracing her shoulders. Then she dutifully got a cloth and wiped up the alcohol that had been spilt all over the man's sleeping bag. The man chuckled drunkenly at her from where he sat and Terralyn resisted the urge to snort with disgust. When she was finished cleaning she stomped away from him.

"Hey runt!" he called again. "It's still not clean!"

Gritting her teeth, Terralyn turned around and glared at him viciously.

"You spilled your fricken' booze on it, so YOU clean it up!" she yelled, her hands balled into fists. She had been marching all night, following people's orders, and she really needed sleep. And she was pretty sure she was PMSing. Add a drunken man to the picture, and well… you see what I mean.

"Excuse me?" his mouth fell open and a string of drool hung out of it. He was drunk, annoyed, and very shocked at Terralyn's behavior. Fortunately he was too drunk to do anything about it. Terralyn stalked off, back to her sleeping bag. Unlike the Captain and a few soldiers, she did not get a tent, and had to sleep under the open sky, rain or shine. But she wasn't alone; all the clean up and more minor people in the new recruits slept outside, around the campfires.

She hated it; she had never slept outside, while it was freezing cold, on the hard ground, _ever._ She hated how people snored all around her, she hated the stupid crickets that just would not _shut up_, and she hated how she just didn't seem to fit in. Terralyn grimaced at that thought as she climbed into her sleeping bag. Now, you're probably thinking, well, why doesn't she fit in? Well, to put it bluntly, she was the smallest person there. Even the rest of the clean up were boys that were either bulkier or taller than her. As a female, she had been considered small and cute, like a doll, but as a male she was considered as… well, a runt. She was ridiculed, called names, forced to carry things that were much too heavy for her. She was pushed around by anyone who took it in their mind to pick on her, and she was powerless to stop it.

All this she had learned just after one day.

She turned over in her sleeping bag and scowled at the dark scruffy shadows that were actually trees in the far distance. _Oh well,_ she thought bitterly. _Anything is better than staying at _that_ palace, with Mercury…_ she shivered unintentionally and burrowed further into her sleeping bag. Exhaustion won over her and she fell into a deep sleep…

Only to be shaken awake roughly the next morning. She muttered a small 'Ow' and sat up, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes. The man standing in front of her had the look of a trained servant; you know, the polite, distant look.

"Captain wishes to see you," he said bluntly before walking away. Terralyn scrambled up and rolled her sleeping bag, shoving it forcefully into her new backpack. She threw the backpack on and scrambled to the Captain's tent as quick as she could. Abruptly, she stopped outside, wondering if she should knock. Then she almost laughed at her silliness. How could someone knock on a cloth tent? Still unsure what to do, she cleared her throat loudly and called out "Captain!"

"Come in," Captain Vil's voice replied. Terralyn winced and moved the flap slightly to the side and stepped in. the tent was large enough that she could stand in it, and probably long enough for ten people to sleep inside it. _Why does he get a huge tent all to himself?_ She thought crabbily. And really, you couldn't blame her, seeing as she ached all over. Sleeping on the cold, hard ground can do that to you.

"I have been informed that you disobeyed a direct order last night, Mr-" he paused, glancing down at the paper in his hand. "_Garrow_. Did you disobey an order?"

"Well, he was drunk-"

"Did you disobey an order?" he asked again, tapping his hands together as he stared into her eyes sternly. "Tell me the truth."

Terralyn sighed. "Yes- but only beca-"

"Five lashes, and latrine duty for the rest of the week." The Captain interrupted again.

"But-"

"Make that eight lashes," he added. "You are dismissed."

Terralyn stood there, struck dumb by the harshness of his words. He glanced away from her, uncaring.

"You're dismissed," he said again, this time with a cold edge to his voice.

Without saying a word, Terralyn whirled on her heal and left the tent. The same polite servant-like man waited outside the tent for her, and before she could say anything, he grabbed her arm and pulled her along to a spot near the forest.

Silently, he beckoned to another boy, who ran over with a box in his hand. The polite servant opened the box and took out a whip. Terralyn's eyes widened as the servant advanced towards her, but she did not back away. She realized it would do no good to run seeing as how the Captain would just add more lashes onto the penalty and probably beat her himself if she disobeyed. So she stayed perfectly still as he circled her. Her breath caught and she readied herself for the blow. Her heart pounded loudly and a sweat broke out on her forehead, but still the dreaded _crack_ did not come, and she was on the brink of turning around and screaming "Just get it over with!" at the stupid man when she heard it.

It was only the softest sound, leather cutting through air, and when it hit her, the sound magnified into a huge _**CRACK**_! Terralyn whimpered as the leather cut into her clothes and snaked across her lower back, and she could feel the blisters beginning to form over the sore flesh.

Five _CRACK_s later, and Terralyn's lower back was covered in neat, perfectly lined up rows of red blistering flesh. The only reason the man didn't give her the full eight lashes was because she was crying hysterically, and just about ready to pass out. He informed her that he was finished, then walked smartly away, shoving the whip to the waiting boy who simply put it back into the box and he, too, walked away.

_Shit,_ she thought as she lay on her stomach, sobbing into the ground. _Shit Shit SHIT that hurt!_ (Although she didn't use such a mediocre swear word as 'shit'.) She lay there, in sheer agony, pounding the ground with her fists. With each smack, she said a swear word. She pounded the ground until her fists began to hurt, and she focused on that pain, which surprising helped her take her mind off of her inflamed back.

A few hours later she struggled to her feet, and tried to stay standing as the world spun around her. The bottom of her shirt was ripped and smeared with a bit of blood that was oozing from the blisters on her back. Her hands were covered in filth and felt as if they were permanently bruised. The whole front of her was dirty. She was not sobbing anymore, but her faced was twisted in pain. She was not surprised that she got a few stares and pitying looks as she stumbled back into the camp. She pushed past everyone, not looking them in the eye, and sat down back at her place with all the clean up staff. She stared at the ground silently while everyone around her cleaned and packed up, getting ready for another day of marching, this time through the woods. The other clean up boys skirted around Terralyn, shooting her glances from the corners of their eyes.

Not one of them was brave enough to see the pain that lingered in Terralyn's eyes.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** a bit longer, yes? claps excitedly I updated so quickly! Everyone should be proud of me! Though I bet everyone is pissed at Captain Vil right about now… I am too, and I'm the one who made him up-

Anyways, I 8 heart 8 the following people: Animals are my LIFE, Aurora, sailorgurl13, Bumbledbee, No-Way-Princess, Sara, heart-of-a-tiger92, bordeauxdaffodill, prokypick, and Galloping Somewhere. Also my FAN-TASTIC fiction press reviewers, Delicacy of the Mind, Carmel March and Tigerlilium!

It puzzles me a bit because according to my alerts list, I should be getting at least 34 reviews each time I update, not including anonymous ones…. Yet I only get 13. sigh well I guess I can't make people review and I really hate it when fanfic authors beg for people to review so I'm not doing that… but I'd just like to give a big shout of thanks to anyone and everyone who reads my story, even if they don't review!

AND I've FINALLy reached 100 reviews for my story (on fanfiction) !!! This is the most reviews I've ever gotten! I didn't even get this many reviews for my other story, By Candlelight! almost faints with happiness THANK YOU GUYS SOOOOOOOO much!

Anyways, the previous question in my last chapter remains. Desert or fight? Now think about this carefully, because both those options could potentially lead Terralyn to her death.. her fate is in your hands!

-TEAROP O 


	14. Chapter 14

_Slosh. Splash. Scrub. Slosh. Splash. Scrub. Slosh. Scrub. SPLASH!_

"Stupid laundry. Stupid water. Stupid army. Stupid life." Terralyn grumbled, wiping the water off her face. _Slosh. Splash. Scrub._ _Slosh. Splash. Scrub._ "I hate my life. I hate everyone. And most of all, I hate Captain Vil. Hate. Hate. **Hate**."

Now, I highly doubt any of you have felt this frustrated ever in your whole entire lives; and if you think I'm wrong, well, let's take a look at this scenario: Terralyn joined the army to get away from slavery, and now she is stuck back in it. Only this time, she is catering to hundreds of stinky, sweaty men who expect their laundry to get clean. The hundreds of filthy shirts and pants stacked up beside Terralyn are evidence enough to that. And, to top it all of, she has to wash it all in the stream (which is also muddy and filled with algae) with a bar of soap.

I think it's safe to say that not one single person living in modern day North America has ever had to go through that, and if any of us were forced to, one simply has to call the police or the children's help phone and explain what's going on, and they will come and stop whatever injustice- such as being forced to wash hundreds of pairs of shirts in a stream- is being done. It's as simple as that. But things aren't so simple for Terralyn; Captain Vil currently hates her guts, and to mention or complain of anything would only lead to more teasing and more bullying from her fellow clean up boys and soldiers.

So she kept quiet, took the dirty laundry, and proceeded to scrub it quite a ways away from the camp.

Finally getting frustrated, Terralyn dumped all the shirts straight into the stream and left them to soak, while rubbing her aching back with shaking hands. Her lashes were healing, but very slowly, and she was afraid that they may have gotten infected. She had been marching for quite a few days now, and her back seemed to be only a little better. She wondered if she should say something, mention how swollen and puffy her back was, but she figured that just by mentioning it she would be whipped again. Above everything else, she never wanted to experience the bite of the whip ever again.

Terralyn stared unhappily at the pile of now soaking wet T-shirts. She realized there was no way she could get the work done unless she got right into it. Literally. She took a quick peek around, but she was about ten minutes away from the back of the camp, so she was in practically no danger of being spotted by scouts or wandering soldiers. And they wouldn't search for her unless she'd been away for a full day; that was generally what happened anyway. So she stripped down to her underwear (and took of the constricting bandage around her chest) and stepped into the water. It was fairly cool, just cool enough to raise the goose bumps on her arms. She grabbed the soap and got to work.

Three hours later, everything was done, and Terralyn's arms were killing her. She strung all the clothes up on tree branches to let them dry. She strode down the stream a ways, and found a slightly deeper pool near the end of it. It was still frigid water, but at least that meant there wouldn't be any algae. She slipped into it and used what was left of the few bars of soap she had brought with her to scrub the dirt off herself. When she was done she got out of the pool and lay down on the somewhat itchy grass to dry off in the sun. She placed her clothes close beside her in case of emergency. Sighing in relief, she flipped onto her stomach, letting her back be exposed to the air. She was exhausted from washing laundry, and her eyes kept falling, slowly, slowly, pulling down…

A snap of a breaking twig startled her awake. She scrambled up and, realizing her clothes were not close to her, made a dash for the nearest bush, but a hand reached out and snaked around her waist.

"How are you, my dear?" a deep voice purred in her ear, sending shivers down her spine. His lips pressed to her throat tenderly, and she felt her heart speed up.

"I knew you'd come after me," she breathed. "I missed you so much!"

"I missed you to, my darling," he said, turning her around to face him. He looked as he always did: blonde hair, ocean blue eyes and mischievous smile. She smiled back at him and fluttered her eyelashes. He reached out his hand and tilted her chin up slightly.

"I've been waiting a long time to do this," he whispered. Then he leaned forward and kissed her tenderly, his arm hugging around her hips. She ran her hands through his hair and responded eagerly, tongue meeting his. Their breathes grew ragged and Terralyn realized just how little clothes she was wearing- but he stopped first, and pushed her away gently.

"No," he said. "I won't let you throw away your innocence like this," he was always so gentlemanly. "Put on your clothes- I have something important to ask you."

Ever obedient, Terralyn put on her clothes (although all she felt like doing was taking everything off… but that's probably too much information for you dear readers) and faced Neptune. Smiling, he strolled over to her and took her hand.

"Terralyn, do you love me?" he asked.

"Yes." No hesitation. "Do you love me?"

"I've loved you ever since the day I've met you." He got down on his knee, and looked up into her eyes. Sunlight fell straight down onto them, bathing them both in a heavenly light. "Will you-"

CRACK! A _real_ stick broke somewhere near Terralyn, forcing her out of her lame romantic totally-been-done-before dream, and slammed her awake. Or rather, someone slammed her onto her back, sat on her, and pinned her arms over her head, therefore waking her up.

"What do we have here?" a cynical voice asked. Looking down at her from his slightly awkward position was a young man with dark hair and a hooked nose. He was wearing Jupiter's colors.

She cursed him with every foul word she knew. When he felt as if he'd heard enough, he slapped his hand over her mouth and let out a low whistle. "I'm mighty impressed with your vocabulary miss," he said. "But the fact is, I'm on a mission."

"Mmgrarg!" she spat through the hand.

"I'm supposed to scout out your little army here- going around back is the best way to go unnoticed of course- and then report back to my master so we can kick your army from here to earth and back again."

Terralyn glared up at him soundly.

"But the fact is, I don't have to be back till nightfall. I still gotta few hours left. And you know what I'm gonna do during that time?" She really did not want to know. "I haven't been with a woman for months," he whispered, staring straight into her terrified eyes. "Mind if I take a tumble with you?"

She thrashed with all her worth, but couldn't get free. He was too big, too heavy, weighing down on her like a huge rock. She bit his hand that still covered her mouth and he pulled away slightly, loosening his grip on her hands. She wiggled her right one free, groping around- she knew the rock was somewhere- _AHA! Got it!_ She thought as her hand closed around the rock. Boldly, she smashed it into his gut.

"Oomph," the man bent over and clutched his stomach, still straddling her. With all of her strength, Terralyn brought the rock down on the man's head. He collapsed on top of her completely, knocked out cold.

Vainly Terralyn struggled beneath him, but his dead weight pinned her down. Giving up, Terralyn almost laughed at what she had gotten herself into. She was _stuck_ under him. How sad was that?

But, after pushing him around a bit, she did manage to wiggle out from underneath him. Breathing hard, Terralyn grabbed her bandage and clothes and dressed herself back into the boy she was pretending to be. Then she ran down the stream, grabbed a particularly filthy shirt, and ripped it into strips. Running back to the unconscious man, she tied his hands behind his back and his feet together as best she could, and then she gagged him. Grabbing the dry clothes from the tree branches, she trudged back to the camp, dropped the clothes carelessly into a basket, she raced to Captain Vil's tent.

"Captain?" she asked uncertainly.

"Enter." She did.

"Captain, I caught a scout from the other side," she said quickly, staring at the floor. Her comment was met with a moment of silence.

"I don't see him anywhere," Vil said coolly.

"I bound and gagged him and left him by the stream a ways back, Captain."

"I see no profit in that."

"Captain, you do not seriously think that a g- boy such as myself could carry a full grown soldier all the way back to camp?"

"I expect no less. Have the prisoner here in less then twenty minutes. Dismissed."

"Shit. Screw you, you terd," Terralyn spat- though this was when she was walking back to her tent, very much out of Captain Vil's earshot. "How am I going to do this?"

That's when she spotted all of the clean up boys scattered around, doing nothing and looking very much bored. "Boys!" she shouted, they all looked up. "Boys, how would you like to take part in a capture of an enemy scout?"

Of course they agreed to help. What boy didn't like to play the part of a soldier? And also, Terralyn offered to do all their chores the following day. It was an offer they could not refuse.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Good work, Mr. Garrow. I expected a lot less," Captain Vil said briskly, his hand hovering over his row of lined up weapons on the ground of his tent. "He's quite bashed up- seems he's taken a bit of brain damage, insisting he was lured into a trap by a sprite who was sleeping by the pool. His head was bruised- presumably by you, of course?" I nodded. "And his gag and ties were all securely done. The work of a fine worker, I must say."

Terralyn fairly glowed with pride. "Thank you Captain."

"Which is why I've decided to promote you to a Scout," he said, finally choosing a fairly small sized sword and testing it's weight in his palm. "You're small, quick, able to follow orders fairly well," he eyes the box which contained his whip, but didn't acknowledge it in any other way. "And I believe you could be silent if you wished. And of course, you will wish that, seeing as if you are caught by the enemy, they will no doubt kill you."

Terralyn simply nodded in response.

"You'll start two days from now, seeing as how you must keep your promises to the other boys," he cracked a grin. "A very ingenious deal, although you'll be working until you could take it back. But no doubt you will get it all done. Dismissed."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Oh. My. God." She resisted the urge to squeal. No more dishes? No more cleaning dirty clothes? No more cleaning ANYTHING? Terralyn could live with that.

But her happy smile faded. What had he said?

'_And I believe you could be silent if you wished. And of course, you will wish that, seeing as if you are caught by the enemy, they will no doubt kill you.'_

'_Oh.' _Terralyn thought, her smile melting into a worried frown. '_Well, I guess I'll have to be silent then…'_

When she had signed up for this army, she had only ever thought about the escaping and fighting part. She had not even acknowledged the dying part.

And now it seemed that she was to walk these forests- where the slightest noise could lead to death- all by herself.

_Shit._

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note: ** how do you like them apples? Lol. Yes I'm sure I confused you guys on the scene/dream part since I didn't really announce it as a dream (that was the point) it was meant to confuse you, and of course there were several hints in there indicating that the dream was indeed a dream. Can you honestly see Terralyn batting her eylashed? Pah-lease!

Thanks to all my super reviewers: Aurora, Galloping somewhere, Bumbledbee, Matsudpie, heart-of-a-tiger92, Sara, sailorgurl13, No-Way-Princess, Ihaconch, porkypick, Viva Andromeda, bordeauxdaffodill, and sweet thoughts. And my fiction press reviewers Carmel March and Delicacy of Mind! THANK YOU SO MUCH! I love all of your reviews (good or bad) and your support is what's keeping this story alive! SO please keep on reviewing!

-teardrop 0


	15. Chapter 15

"We'll be approaching the battle grounds in twenty four hours," Captain Vil announced to the tiny gathering in his tent. "I want you four to spread out, searching for clues, tracks, any sign of a surprise attack from the sides or the rear. If there is any sign of danger, you are to report back to me immediately. Gordon, take the right wing, Jim take left, Jerome take front and Al take behind. If you are not back within ten hours, we will assume you are dead. Dismissed."

Terralyn stepped forward.

"What is it, Jerome?"

"Permission to speak, sir," she have finally caught on to the ways of the army. Vil nodded. "What about weapons, sir?"

Vil gave her a bored look, one eyebrow raised slightly. "You have your knives, do you not?"

"Yes sir-"

"Those are your weapons."

"But-"

"Those are your weapons."

"Yes sir. Thank you sir."

"Dismissed."

Terralyn ducked out of the tent along with the other scouts, scowling. She was no fighter, but she knew as well as anyone that a knife would not protect her from an ambush of any kind, be it one person or twenty. What she needed was a sword- but she guessed scouts weren't allowed that sort of thing.

_I'll just have to be really, really quiet,_ she thought. _But then again,_ she reflected, _I'll have to be quick because I'm scouting in front- can't have the whole camp catch up to me. How embarrassing that would be…How can I be quick and quite in a forest?? Impossible._

Things were a heck of a lot easier when she was simply a clean up boy. Not that she ever was a boy; technically a girl, so that would be a- well, you get my drift.

Terralyn packed her bag and put it in one of the wagons that carried supplies. Then she grabbed a bit of bread and stuffed it in her pocket along with some meat and cheese. The cook took one look at her scrawny self and tossed her another slab of thin steak, medium rare. A good dinner for later, but it had to be wrapped in a small cloth bag to keep it from leaking all over her pocket. Next came the canteen, filled to the brim with water, enough to last her five hours. She was probably expected to find her own water after that. Terralyn let out a huge sigh and set out towards the front of the camp.

_Things were a lot simpler back on earth,_ she thought. _I didn't have to rely on myself all the time…_ Not that Terralyn wasn't independent, but in our world, everyone is co-dependant whether they like it or not. We're always relying on someone, or something to help us. Like family, friends, sports, food, love, money- you name it, we're dependant on it. But in this army, you had to fend for yourself. Take care of yourself. And though Terralyn can and will take care of herself, she still ached for a certain someone to simply waltz through the door (hypothetically speaking) and bleat a cheerful good morning. …I think you all know who I'm talking about….

"Headed off ta scout, are ye?" a voice called to her as she passed through the front outskirts of the camp. Terralyn stopped and looked around. A middle aged man sat beside a fire, warming his hands. "First day?"

"Yes," Terralyn admitted.

"Nervous?"

"Yes."

"Don't sweat it. If someone finds ye, they kill ye. Quick as a blink. Won't ev'n feel it," the man grinned from ear to ear. Then his expression grew serious. "But if they thinks ye know somethin', they migh' take ye prisoner. Tis the worst, most painful way to die,"

"Oh, and you're the expert on death and dying, are you?" Terralyn asked sarcastically. She was seconds from slapping him. "Good day, sir." Then she ran, away from him, away from the camp, only slowing when she reached the forest. Then she walked at a brisk trot, scrambling over fallen trees, through mud, through twigs and spiky bushes which decided to get in Terralyn's way. Within ten minutes she was covered in scrapes and completely filthy. And probably making enough noise to alert a deaf man.

But she had just attracted something much worse…

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Here we are," the cook placed a large platter of sizzling meat in front of Neptune and bowed out of the tent. Neptune stared down at the food glumly. As a god, eh didn't really need to eat food, but it was a pleasantry that he normally enjoyed.

O.o.O

_"Will you keep her?" Pete asked, scratching his bald head._

_"I think I will. She's such a pretty thing. And we could use some entertainment." He raised an eyebrow suggestively._

_"Really?" Pete gave him a look. Neptune lifted both eyebrows._

_"Your tone is implying something. Care to explain?"_

_"I think that this is about more than sex," Pete pointed out. "You've had your fair share of women, mortal and immortal, and have never shown mercy, even if they try to resist." Neptune thought about Pete's words, and realized they were completely correct._

_"True." He allowed._

_"I think this is more about companionship- I know you get lonely, sometimes your majesty," Pete said._

_"That's preposterous. She's here because she is beautiful and I cherish beautiful things."_

_"Whatever you say, your majesty…"_

_O.o.O_

Neptune remembered that conversation, back when he had first rescued Terralyn. He remembered how he'd laughed at Pete, taunting him, making fun of Pete's lack of women in his life.

But it seemed Pete may have been right.

When Terralyn had refused to sleep with him, he had backed down immediately. It was almost as if he had not really wanted to sleep with her (this is what his brain was thinking, not his other head) …. No, it was almost as if he had not wanted to take her innocence away from her…

O.o.O

_"I don't understand her!" Neptune thundered at Pete. "One moment we're laughing, having a jolly good time, and the next minute she pulls away, like she doesn't want to be near me." Pause. "She's just so… so… frustrating!"_

_"Mortal women are that," Pete agreed. _

_"But she's so beautiful," sigh. "And straightforward. Almost too bold, one could say. And she loves the color blue, and the ocean…" His blue eyes stared off into their own world._

_"Yup, she's a keeper," Pete agreed, with a laugh, but stopped laughing when Neptune glared at him._

_O.o.O_

Neptune stared down at his plate once more, and tried to take a bite, but found himself still remembering…

O.o.O

_A sheet of black hair, hanging down over green eyes. Eyes the color of seaweed. The eyes stared at the meal, but she did not take a bite. She was nervous; he could tell. _

_"I'm not hungry," Terralyn said, standing up quickly. The light shone on her hair, making it sparkle._

_"Yes you are," he said. "You have not eaten a full meal for quite some time."_

_"How do you know that?" Terralyn asked, her eyebrows creased into a scowl and her back hunched._

_"I have my ways," Neptune said. Terralyn snorted loudly and stepped away from the table, trying to make her way past the formidable Neptune to the door. There was no way he was letting her pass. _

_"That sounded slightly stalker-ish." Terralyn pointed out._

_"What is a stalker?" Neptune asked, thoroughly confused. 'more mortal slang,' he thought bitterly._

_"Someone who follows another person around, watches what they do, obsesses over them, and is generally an overall creepy person." Terralyn said, stepping sideways. Neptune stepped right in front of her. _

_"Well then," he said simply. "I am your stalker."_

_O.o.O_

That memory made him laugh, but it was a melancholy kind of laugh, one that sounded hollow and broken. He was so worried for his little human. There was no way he could protect her. If he so much as used magic to clean up a broken plate, the other gods would sense his magic and begin fighting immediately. He would rather not be the one to start the magic part of this huge and rather pointless war.

Pushing his plate away, he stood up and walked out of the tent, searching for the armory. If he was going to survey this crowd, he would need some form of protection.

Of course, he did have a hidden Trident with him, but no one knew that. And it would work only when truly needed. Of course, he could force it to work, but the magic in it would get out of control…. Only he could completely control it because it was essentially a part of him.

And he was giving the Triton up for a chance to save Terralyn… of course there are some ulterior motives that I won't share with you quite yet….

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O  
She screamed. Who wouldn't? A giant grey frothing-in-the-mouth wolf had just appeared out of nowhere and was now two feet away from Terralyn, just on the edge of a small clearing. The wolf's nostrils flared, catching the scent of her scent on the wind, and ran towards her.

_Ahh! Pointy teeth! POINTY TEETH!_ Terralyn's panicked mind screamed at her to run, to hide, and to do **something**. Instead, she stood perfectly still, sweat dripping down her forehead. The wolf must have decided she wasn't worth the effort of running, so he loped up to her confidently, circling her, growling. Terralyn stood perfectly still, hardly breathing. The wolf limped around her- that's when she noticed its injured paw.

_It can't run after me with an injured leg,_ Terralyn thought, her mind racing. _I need to distract it…_

Its nostrils flared again, and it's growling grew louder as it ventured close.

_What do wolves like? Think, Terralyn, think!_ Her mind raced. And, as if a light bulb went off above her head. _Meat!_

Her hand crept to her pocket and she snatched out the meat and tossed it to the wolf. Surprised by the strong scent of semi-raw meat, the wolf paused in its tracks to sniff the package.

Terralyn did not pause. She ran- on and on and on- not really sure which was she was running, whether she was in enemy territory or not-

That is, until she ran smack into someone. Someone wearing Jupiter's colors. Terralyn's mind went blank as he raised his sword above his head.

_THUMP! _The flat of the sword came down on her head.

"Damn it," she cursed as she slumped forward, straight into the stranger's arms.

"_But if they thinks ye know somethin', they migh' take ye prisoner. Tis the worst, most painful way to die…"_

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** hehe cliff hangar…. Not that its that intensely exciting. Anyways, I just thought I'd give a little more insight on good ol' Neptune….. Wow I heart all my reviewers!!!!!! gives everyone a giant hug Thanks to my fab reviewers: porkypick, (see, I told u I'd put u first!), sailorgurl13 (you were actually the first to review!!! YAY!!!) ElvishKiwi, Bubledbee, Viva Andromeda, Ihaconch, Ellen Jacee, Animals are my LIFE, heart-of-a-tiger92, sheslike-poisonivy, Live Laugh Love1628!!!!!!

And of course, my anonymous reviewers… I will respond to your reviews here…

No-Way-Princess: yes, this story has a happy ending.. but things change….

Sara: Don't think for one second that Jupiter will bring Terralyn to Neptune unless he has a motive…

Aurora: Don't you just love romance? So corny/… but written in the right way, it can be good…. Hopefully I wrote it in the right way :P

Cuter than you (not sure if I should take your name offensively… :P) I was so happy to hear that you heard about my story from a friend!!! Yay its being passed around lol! And yes, Terralyn is a nice name… actually, I don't know if I already said this, but Terralyn is based on a childhood enemy of mine. It's kind of like my interpretation on what she'd be like now if I met her again… ya that sounds weird but it just happened…

And thanks to my fictionpress reviewers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maranwe Telrunya (are you still with me? You stopped reviewing after chapter 3….) Delicacy of Mind, A tree (sweet name lol) and Alice B. Black.

Questions oh the questions!... lets see….

Terralyn+ Neptune…. Lovers or friends???

I think I know what everyone is going to say to that one….

-TEARDROP O


	16. Chapter 16

"Found this one in the forest, sir." He threw the deadweight onto the floor and stood straight, legs apart, hands clasped behind his back. "Assumed to be a scout from the other side, sir."

"Very good," Jupiter said, nodding to the soldier. "You're to take him to the hole. Give him only enough water and food to keep him alive. Provisions are wasted on those who are useless. Dismissed."

The soldier picked the scout up and lugged her over his shoulder, carrying her like a sack of potatoes. He walked carefully through the camp, nodding to some of his fellow soldiers, till he reached the very center of the camp. Before him was a giant hole, about eight feet deep and eight feet wide. There was nothing sophisticated about this hole, with its packed walls. It was purely meant for temporary prisoners, like the scout he had on his shoulder. Unfeelingly the soldier dropped the scout into the whole and trotted away, back to his section of the camp.

Moments later, Terralyn woke up. Her whole back screamed in pain and her head thudded with a dull ache that got worse as she sat up. "Ow." Terralyn winced, lying back down. For a moment, she thought she had shrunk down to doll size and was now sitting in a box with an open lid… until a face peered over the edge.

"Ah. 'nother one of them Red one's." a boy spat on Terralyn and a few other boys appeared in her line of vision as they stood around the whole. Terralyn wiped the spittle off her arm but remained lying down so she could keep an eye on all of them at once.

"Wager this 'un isn't gonna last long," another boy said unfeelingly. No one bet against him, and Terralyn refused to say a word. Besides, her head was still pounding. She was sure that if she spoke her brain would explode.

"Weak li'l thing he is," another boy said. They all started to call her names and spit on her, but Terralyn didn't even try to fight back. It wasn't worth it. After seeing that Terralyn wasn't going to play along, the boys wandered away, off to cause mischief.

_I'm in a hole,_ she thought, feeling faintly claustrophobic. "At least the hole has an opening," she said aloud, trying to calm her down. She lifted her hand to touch her forehead and felt the tender, swollen part of a fresh bruise that spread from the top of her head to her right ear. She tried to sit up, but the effort only brought tears of pain to her eyes. Those were wiped away quickly.

For a long time, Terralyn simply lay there, staring up at the cloudy sky. Many people passed by, some not sparing a glance, while others would laugh and spit on her. Terralyn let them. She was too tired to fight back. The sky darkened and Terralyn found her eyes drifting shut, until she was lost in dreamland.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"I hear that one of your boys caught a scout," Neptune said casually to Jupiter over dinner.

"What you heard is indeed true," Jupiter allowed, chewing on a piece of steak. "He's a ragged little thing, perfect for scouting, seeing as he's so small. The soldier who caught him said he heard the lad shriek- like a female!- and then the lad ran straight at him! Good luck or pure stupidity, this is."

"Have you spoken with him?"

"Not quite yet. We're breaking him down- less food and water each day- for a week or so. Then we'll ask him if he'd like to talk. If he gives us no answers, we try more sinister methods."

"I see," there was a brief pause in silence while the gods chewed their food. "Any news?"

Of course Jupiter knew what Neptune meant. "Not yet. When we find her, you'll be the first to know." _What a blatant lie that was,_ Jupiter thought vaguely, utterly guiltless.

"And you do understand that once I find her, I'm leaving," Neptune pointed out.

"And leaving us the Trident."

Neptune said nothing to that, only stood up and headed for the tent flap. "I'd like to take a look at this prisoner, if you don't mind." Jupiter gave him a nod of dismissal and Neptune left the tent.

Neptune passed a hand through his hair and wandered through the camp, past the roaring campfires of soldiers, ignoring their drunken laughter. Finally he found the Hole, and at first it seemed as if it was empty. Neptune adjusted his sight to that of sea horse and peered down into the darkness. A figure was sprawled there, sleeping silently. The boy had short black hair and was wearing the ragged uniform of the Red army. His face was distorted by filth and a sore looking bruise. He was short, which was clearly why he had been chosen to scout. He looked slightly stiff, just lying there, and Neptune wondered if he had an injury. Shrugging, he turned away and walked back towards his tent. The boy's injuries were none of his concern. The boy was simply a source of information that might provide him with the whereabouts of a certain female. The boy could otherwise rot for all Neptune cared.

"Oh Neptune," a voice purred from the darkness. Venus sashéd into Neptune's view, her eyes smoldering as she smiled at him. Neptune frowned at her and kept walking. She followed him, her long legs keeping up with him without a problem. "Is Neptune in a bad mood?" she asked in a childish voice.

"Yes, I am," he said. "And I would appreciate it if I had some time to myself."

"Wouldn't it be easier to talk to someone?" Venus asked. "Perhaps I can give you a different perspective on things."

Neptune stopped and turned around. "I have no need to confide anything to you."

"We don't have to talk," she said, her eyes twinkling as she pressed against him.

"Alright," Neptune said. He searched his mind, wondering if he should feel sad or guilty about what he was about to do.

But he was like a giant void. He felt nothing, nothing, _nothing._

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Oy! Red! Wake up!" a voice screamed at Terralyn. She cracked an eyelid and blinked tiredly. The man who had yelled at her was holding something over her head… she sat up just in time to catch the loaf of bread. Next came the canteen filled with water. The man disappeared and Terralyn started to eat the bread greedily. She kept telling herself _Stop! Save some for later! Stop!_ But she had very little self control over a stomach which had not been fed for over twenty-four hours. Before she knew it the bread was gone.

She was much more careful with the water, taking only a few sips. Her headache pounded on, a combination of her bruise and dehydration fueling it. But there was nothing she could do about that.

Now that she was fed, and could properly sit up, she stretched around a bit, seeing if her muscles were all functional. Nothing was broken or sprained, just severely bruised.

"Oy it's Red!" a boy Terralyn recognized from yesterday yelled as he trotted up to the whole. Both he and his friends all spat on her at the same time, there spit landing on her lap. Gingerly Terralyn stood up and lifted her head slowly, a look of pure rage on her face.

"Don't you ever, ever spit on me," she growled, her fists clenched. "If you do, so help me god, you will be the first ones a massacre when I get out of the this bloody hell whole."

"Ooh, Red's got fire," one boy teased. His friends looked apprehensive thought. Seeing that he had no back up, the boy turned around and started to walk away. "Common' men. This terd in't worth out time."

Terralyn felt herself go dizzy as she sat back down on the ground. She put her head in her hands, fighting back tears of anger and frustration (mostly due to the fact that she was trapped in a whole and not able to fight back).

"Oh god," she said.

"You called?" a voice purred from over her head.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** Yes I know, too short. Inexcusable. Well too bad cuz I'm tired and I need sleep :P And don't be too mad about Neptune! Its not his fault he thinks with two heads :P and ya the ending is a cliff hanger. Yup I'm just a terrible person :P

okay… here it goes… thanks to my fabulous reviewers: Live Laugh Love1628, Sara, porkypick, RealLifeFantasy, sialorgurl13, Bumbledbee, Viva Andromeda, Animals are my LIFE, Aurora, No-Way-Princess, and sweet thoughts. Plus my fiction press reviewer: Maranwe Telrunya (love your story Blood for a Rose btw)

okay so I know you're all mad at me cuz of the reasons I mentioned above so to make it up to you, I'm going to ask the most important question of all:

Happy Ending or Reality?

-teardrop O


	17. Chapter 17

"What's this?" the voice purred, staring down into the pit. "A prisoner?"

"Get lost," Terralyn spat. Venus' eyes went very round with mock surprise and shock.

"You called for me, so I'm here," a pause. "Foolish mortal! Calling on a god in a place like this! You were lucky it was I who showed up."

"I didn't ask for you to come," Terralyn muttered, staring at the ground. A hand squeezed her arm roughly, causing her to glance up. Venus had teleported herself down the whole to where Terralyn was standing. Terralyn glared at her fiercely. "Don't touch me!"

"My, a feisty young man, are we?" Terralyn wondered briefly if Venus was an idiot. But then again, she _was_ covered in dirt and dressed as a boy… Terralyn simply shrugged her off and shuffled away.

"Cold blooded, too!" Venus exclaimed, shimmying up to her. Terralyn's face remained closed but her mind was rolling her eyes, shaking her head, and screaming with laughter all at once. Venus pressed herself up against Terralyn, her eyes seductive and soft.

"Don't touch me." Terralyn said disgustedly.

"I bet you've been without a girl for months," Venus said, her hand walking up Terralyn's shoulder.

Again, "Don't touch me." Terralyn shuffled away, but there's only so far you can go in a hole. "Just leave!"

"How dare you talk this way to a God?" Venus hissed, her eyes blazing. "You shall be punished for your actions!"

"Bring it on, bitch." Terralyn drawled. Venus hissed, ready to lunge at her, when another face peeped over the edge of the hole.

"Something wrong?" Neptune asked, his gold hair shining. Terralyn's heart started to hammer as she stared up at him. What was he doing here? Was he part of this stupid war too? And why was he only looking at Venus? Couldn't he see her? Couldn't he recognize her? _How could he not recognize me?_ She opened her mouth to scream at him, to say something. Anything. But all that came out was a high pitched squeak.

"Neptune, this boy tried to assault me," Venus pouted. Neptune passed a hand through his hair; he knew this wasn't true, seeing as Venus had gone into the hole of her own accord.

"Nept-" Terralyn tried, her voice still squeaky. Venus cut her off quickly.

"He needs to be punished." Terralyn cleared her throat.

"It's m-"

"Very well." He said abruptly. His face disappeared as a giant fountain of water sprung from the air and hammered down on Terralyn, leaving her flat on the ground. "You deal with him however you want," Neptune called over his shoulder as he walked away.

Grinning evilly, Venus turned towards the soaking girl who was now pulling herself onto her feet. Terralyn passed a hand over her face, pushing her hair away from her eyes. The bandage around her chest was now very loose and hid nothing at all, and the wet shirt clung around her curves, exposing her true identity.

"What's this? A girl?" Venus peered at her from across the hole. "Wait a moment… I know you from somewhere…"

"No you don't," Terralyn said, deliberately hiding her face with her dripping hair.

"Yes… I know that annoying voice," Venus snapped her fingers. "I do believe I have just caught Neptune's play toy," she paused for a bit, her eyes searching Terralyn's face. "Terra something or other,"

"Terralyn," the girl said, immediately regretting it.

"Oh, Jupiter is going to love this!" she clapped her hands excitedly. In a blink of an eye she was gone, reappearing at the top of the hole. "Now don't go anywhere!" She snickered. "I'll be right back."

A second later Jupiter appeared right beside Terralyn, making her jump in surprise.

"Are you sure?" Jupiter asked Venus, who was hovering above the hole.

"Yes I'm sure," she snapped. "Now get her out of there before Neptune sees her!"

"Alright," Jupiter (reluctantly) grabbed Terralyn's filthy arm and a flash of bright light surrounded them, blinding her temporarily. Blinking, Terralyn rubbed her eyes as pinpricks of light danced around her. When she could finally see properly, she found herself in a tent. Jupiter stood away from her, holding his nose in a dignified manner as Venus spoke softly into his ear. Shadows of two or three men, guards, could be seen through the flimsy tent material. To her right was a lumpy looking pallet with a flattened pillow. Those were the only items in the whole tent.

Jupiter smiled at her, his white teeth flashing. "You'll stay here for now. Don't try to run. These guards can and _will_ kill you if you even attempt to escape."

Without another word the two gods ducked out of the tent.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Neptune picked at his food, once again not hungry. As the days wore on, Terralyn's face grew dimmer and dimmer. He could hardly remember what she looked like, although he felt sure he could recognize her if he saw her. He would certainly recognize her mannerism and the way she spoke, completely unique from those of the world of gods.

He picked up his plate and walked back to the chef's tent. Normally he would get someone else to do it, but he needed a walk to distract him from his thoughts.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Jupiter and Venus duck out of a tent, whispering to each other. When they saw him the immediately stopped talking. A feeling washed over Neptune, and he was aware that the two gods had just been talking about him.

They walked up to him, smiles plastered on their faces.

"Good evening," Jupiter said.

"Good evening." Neptune crossed his arm. "Who's in the tent?"

"What do you mean?" Venus asked innocently.

"This tent just appeared. And there are guards in front of it. Who's the special guest?"

"The prisoner," Venus spat, her normally beautiful face twisted in fury. She would have said more, but Jupiter gave her a glare which immediately shut her up.

"I see. And why is the prisoner suddenly getting special treatment?"

"He has provided us with some valuable, and very _confidential_, information," Jupiter said airily. "I believe he may be used as a good bargaining tool, perhaps a ransom of some sort."

"I see."

"Now, I must be going. I have to speak with a few of the gods about tomorrow."

"What's happening tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow will be the day when the gods become involved. I'm sick of simply watching as mortals are wounded and killed. Tomorrow we start the real war, yes?"

"And how do you plan on truly beginning this war?"

"We shall all attack at once, bombarding and killing the mortal army instantly. _He_," -meaning Mars- "would be a fool not to launch an attack in return."

"I see."

"Will you help us?"

"I think not."

"Perhaps by tomorrow you will change your mind," Jupiter said shrewdly. "Good evening to you, Neptune."

"Good evening."

Neptune dropped his dishes off and went back to his tent. Lying down on his pallet, he shifted around, trying to get comfortable. There was no way he would ever change his mind. Well there was one way, that is to say one person…

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Terralyn shifted in her pallet, severely uncomfortable. Sighing loudly, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep. In her minds eyes, she could see Neptune as he bent over the hole, peering down at her. His glorious hair and blue eyes… she cheeky grin… and he was here. In this camp. Her stomach erupted in butterflies at the thought. Then suddenly, she felt an empty, hollow feeling of loneliness wash over her. He had not recognized her. Venus, her arch enemy, had, and yet he had not. There were no words to describe how disappointed she felt.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors ramble: ** yes so everyone's going to be really mad at me. But I think they'll see/recognize each other next chapter! Ahem anyways.. thanks to: Delicacy of Mind, Tigerlilium, Hannah Montana, Elvish Kiwi, Ellen Jacee, sara, No-way-princess, Live Laugh Love1628, porkypick, Animals are my LIFE, Viva Andromeda, shelikes-poisonivy, Matsudapie, FearieatHeart13 and Aurora (yes Neptune is very much a guy. And a god. He's used to getting what he wants. Don't be too mad. He makes up for it!)

And on that note, I'd like to ask a question: would you rather I update short chapters (which will be updates more quickly) or long chapters (which take more time to write/update)? Please let me know what you'd like and I'll try my best to accomplish it!

-teardrop O


	18. Chapter 18

"**L**, is for the way you look, at me. **O**, is for the only one I see," Terralyn paused, trying to remember the rest of the song. She had been trying to keep herself busy all morning. (And by keeping busy, I mean keeping herself from going insane.) So she sang songs, made up poems, talked to herself. She was so bored and she was getting desperate. Desperate enough to sing as loud and as horribly as she possibly could.

"**V**, is very very, extraordinary-" she squeaked on the 'ary'. "**E** is even more than anyone that you adore…"

But she grew tired of love songs, just as people grow tired of love.

"There is no you, there is only me!" she yelled out, singing a popular rock song. "There is no you, there is only me! Only….Only….me…"

And a wave of loneliness washed over her, so she started to belt out a random song once more, which just happened to be jingle bells.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Jupiter flexed his arms, testing out the weight of the armor. It was absolutely perfect in size and color; not that armor was actually needed. Gods weren't affected by mortal weapons and could defend themselves using magic against other gods. But it looked nice and it was a traditional part of fighting, and it wouldn't do to go breaking tradition, would it?

Venus flaunted into his tent, looking very evil (and slutty) in a very tight armor vest-skirt-and-high-heeled-boots combo. Her hair was braided and coiled around her head, making her look like a master of war. She pretty much was a master- or rather mistress- of war, seeing as how gods live forever and they occasionally warred on each other. Strike that; they constantly warred on each other.

"Neptune hasn't changed his mind?" Jupiter asked the goddess, who was checking herself out in a mirror. She had just come back from a brief visit with Neptune.

"No," she pouted. "He won't listen to a thing I say."

"Well then, it's time to bring out our secret weapon."

Venus scowled. "Why can't we just kill her instead?"

"Because that would only make Neptune mad. And we don't want another god, especially the god of the sea, joining the Red side, now do we?"

"No. But I still think we should kill her. Or torture her. Or both."

"I'm off to see our dear friend Neptune," Jupiter paused at the tent flap. "Want to come along and watch the fun?"

"Do I want to come along and watch him make an idiot out of himself over some girl? I don't think so." She went back to admiring herself in the mirror. "Let me know how it goes."

Jupiter left the tent and went in search for Neptune. He found him moping in his tent, lying on his bed and staring at the cloth ceiling. "Good morning, brother."

"Good morning," his tone implied the exact opposite of what he was saying. "Off to battle?"

"At sunset."

"Ah."

Jupiter scratched his chin, and then clasped his hands in front of him.

"I have a proposition for you."

"I don't want to hear it." Neptune stood up. "I'm not fighting with you, and that's that."

"I think you'll find this deal rather…appealing," Jupiter paused. "You see, I have something you want, something you want very much…"

"And what would that be?" Neptune asked skeptically.

"Or rather, I have some_one_ you want,"

"WHAT?!" Neptune roared, growing three inches.

"Calm down, dear brother, and let's talk about this like two normal gods." Neptune looked as if he was about to rip off Jupiter's head.

"Where. Is. She?" Neptune asked calmly. Too calmly.

"She's safe," He paused. "Provided that you fight for me, of course."

"I thought I made myself clear when I said I would not be fighting."

"You were perfectly clear. I just chose not to listen to you." Jupiter tilted his head up and looked Neptune in the eye. "Now let me clarify things for _you_: you fight for me, or the girl dies."

"Terralyn has nothing to do with this- this- _game_ you are playing!" Neptune yelled, absolutely furious. His head was now touching the top of the tent. "Where are you keeping her?"

"That is for me to know, and you to find out," Jupiter paused once again. He was not in the least intimidated by Neptune's anger. "If you agree to fight for me, I will let you see her. With supervision, of course."

"And if I don't fight for you?"

"As I said, the girl dies." Neptune shrunk back down slightly, looking defeated.

"Will you let us both go if I do?"

"Now that is another thing I'd like to discuss." Jupiter tilted his head slightly. "In exchange for both yours and the girl's freedom, I would like the Trident. If you remember, that was our earlier agreement."

"Yes, I did agree to that, didn't I?" Neptune passed his hand over his face. "Very well. Once we are free, I'll give you the Trident."

"I'm not a fool," Jupiter snapped, his face turning red. "Don't taunt me. I know that as soon as I let you leave you'll run off to some corner where I can't find you, or the Trident."

"I will give you the spell to call the Trident before hand, that way it will come to you when it is needed, and will return to me when it is not. Is that satisfactory?"

"Very well," Jupiter paused at the tent door. "I suggest you prepare yourself for battle. We leave an hour before sunset." He went to leave, but then turned back again. "And don't try to look for her. She's well hidden and heavily guarded."

Then he left.

Smiling grimly, Neptune ducked out of his tent and went to find the tent the 'spy' was being kept. Jupiter had tipped him off unknowingly when he had said 'guarded', and, if Terralyn was truly in that tent, then Venus' spiteful attitude from the day before made all the more sense.

He watched the guarded tent from behind another tent close by. The back and front were guarded, and the sides were securely bolted down. There was no way he could sneak in. Unless-

He glanced around. No one was within sight, so he turned himself into a dragonfly (dragonflies are water creatures, you know!) and buzzed over to the tent. Sure enough, there was a tiny space between the bolts on the tent flaps that he was able to slip through.

His bug ears almost exploded with the impact of Terralyn's singing voice. At least he thought she was singing, although to him it sounded like "IIIIIIIIIIILLLLOOOOOOOWWWWWOOOOVVVVVVRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOCKNNNNNDDROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLRRRRRRRGGGGRRRRRRRR!"

"Ouch," Neptune winced, changing into his god form. Terralyn's eyes widened and she was about to scream, but Neptune shoved his hand over her mouth and pulled her into a hug.

"I missed you," he whispered, taking his hand off of her mouth. Terralyn snuggled up to him, fighting back tears.

"I missed you to," she said, her eyes fixed on his. "This feels so… unreal."

"I'm sorry I didn't recognize you before," Neptune whispered. Then he drank her in, everything from her torn, bloody legs to filthy clothes and messy hair do. And the green eyes he so vividly remembered. Those beautiful green eyes…

"Still as beautiful as always," he whispered, pulling her in for another hug.

"Just in need of a shower," she whispered back. She started to laugh, but his lips caught hers. He pulled her closer, so close their bodies were pressed together, and his hands traveled up and down her back, softly soothing her aching muscles. Terralyn closed her eyes and felt herself relax into his hold, kissing him back with intensity. He broke the kiss first and leaned down to kiss her neck, right where the pulse fluttered. She shivered and her body tensed as he leaned his lips against her ear. She thought he was going to say something, something important, but then a flurry of sound from outside ruined the moment. Someone was trying to get into the tent.

"Better start your awful singing again," Neptune whispered, pulling away. His hand brushed the side of her face. "I'll see you soon…" then he transformed.

"IIIIIIIMMMMMMMMMMMMMMWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOORRRRNNNNNNSUUUUNNNNNSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEE," began Terralyn. (Though what she was really singing was 'I'm walking on sunshine.') And that was all Neptune managed to hear before zipping out of the tent and heading back to his own. He tried his best to make sure no one saw him, but being a bug had its downfalls, one being weird eyesight.

Unfortunately someone did see him… a very jealous, angry someone…

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"The fool," Jupiter spat, after listening to Venus' tale. "Breaking a promise over that…" he paused, and unsheathed his sword, turning it this way and that in the sunlight. "Really, the penalty is her death. But we need him to cooperate, so that is not an option. But we also need to make sure he doesn't sneak her away somehow…"

"This would be a lot easier if she wasn't ten tents away from him," Venus complained, sitting cross legged on the floor. Jupiter's eyes lit up.

"That's it! We'll send her away, to somewhere where he can't find her!" Jupiter's smirk turned into a frown. "But we need to do it secretly, so he won't know right away…" he glanced away from his sword and looked appraisingly at Venus.

"What?" she asked. Her innocent expression immediately turned into a horrified one. "Not in one hundred, billion, _trillion_ years! I will not take that filthy girl anywhere! She is vile and disgusting and should be killed just for breathing!"

"You _will_ take her to my palace, Venus. And she's to be locked into one of the dungeons that are shrouded with magic. You are to come back immediately." He paused, and then added: "And she will not be dead, mutilated or harmed in any way when I see her next. Am I clear?"

"As clear as mud," Venus spat. Jupiter took a step towards her, his hands raised, thunderbolts dancing around them. His eyes glowed eerily and his face was beat red with anger. The air began to crackle and Venus' hair started to frizz.

"AM. I. CLEAR?" he thundered. Venus cowered away from him.

"Crystal," she squeaked. With a grunt, Jupiter left the tent, leaving a frazzled (and frizzy) Venus behind him.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** most people voted short so I figured well why not :p I wrote this in an hour, which may or may not be a good thing.

Alright! Thanks to my reviewers: Hannah Montana, Luv-TU, Tigerlilium, Miss Space Case, Carmel March, Delicacy of Mind, FearieatHeart13, Matsudapie, Bumbledbee, sailorgurl13, sweet thoughts, porkypick, Viva Andromeda, Celestial Seraphim, sara, Live Laugh Love1628 (love the name btw), Aurora, No-Way-Princess and Arieda Rivers! Thanks so much to all of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update should be within a week (But I make no promises)

-teardrop O


	19. Chapter 19

CHAPTER 19

"I am slowly going crazy, 1-2-3-4-5-6 switch, crazy going slowly am I 6-5-4-3-2-1 switch," Terralyn sang, staring up at the tent ceiling. She paused her singing for a minute, listening. She could distantly hear one guard saying "If she starts singing _one more time-_" to another guard. So, to spite them, she started singing again, only this time louder. "I am beautiful, in every single way. Words can't bring me down OOOOOOOOOH YEEEAH!"

"If you don't shut your mouth, my SWORD will bring you down!" the guard yelled.

"BITE ME!" Terralyn yelled back.

"You are _such_ a brat," a new voice hissed from outside the tent. An irritated Venus stomped in and glared at Terralyn loathingly.

"Nice haircut," Terralyn said, referring to Venus' very frizzy hair.

"Shut up!" Venus growled, stomping her foot like a small child.

"What a fantastic come back. I might faint from the shock of how original it was."

Terralyn knew she was pushing it, but honestly, it had to be done. "You'd think since you're so _old_ that you'd have wonderfully creative responses, but I guess not."

"You are not to speak to me in that way!" Venus hissed. "I have been charged to take care of you under Jupiter's orders, but don't think that I can't kill you behind his back." She paused and seemed to gather herself together before smiling slightly.  
"All I'd have to do is make it seem as if you had an accident."

"Meh." Terralyn said. "Why don't you go think about that for awhile and let me know when a creative idea pops into your head? Oh wait, I'd be dead by then."

"You UGLY, ABNOXIOUS HUMAN!" Venus screamed, in quite the rage. "I don't know what he sees in you. I'm one hundred times more gorgeous then you and I am the very _definition_ of sex appeal, whereas you have none!"

"It's cuz I'm better than you," Terralyn appeared to be unaffected by Venus' rage, although she had edged away from Venus slightly. "Deal with it."

"I'll deal with you!" she pounced at Terralyn, making a grabbing motion with her hands.

"All is well?" Jupiter asked dryly from the doorway. Venus recovered immediately, stepping away from Terralyn and wiping her hands on her skirt. Her face was the perfect mask of innocence.

"Of course," Venus said respectfully. Terralyn chose to say nothing, considering it was all too obvious that nothing was well.

"Good. We're going to head off- You know what to do." He said to Venus. Then, "Remember what I said."

"Of course," Venus said again. Jupiter left the tent as quickly as he had arrived. Venus shot back an evil glare at Terralyn. "I will be seeing _you_ tonight, you filthy piece of vermin." Then she stormed out.

_Bugger,_ Terralyn thought, bothered slightly by both Venus' and Jupiter's' brief exchange of words. _Neptune, now would be a good time to save me._

And she waited.

But he did not come.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Neptune ran his hands over his coat, smiling slightly. Even without a mirror, he knew he would look exactly like the other guards. And with the cover of darkness, he would not need to hide his face. This plan was all too perfect.

He had waited till just before sunset, when all of the gods would be preparing to leave for battle, before acting. He guessed he was being watched, so he had tried to keep a low profile. Grinning, he strolled out of his tent and headed over to Terralyn's.

His plan was to replace the guards on watch, grab Terralyn and sneak out of the camp. It was so simple. So simple that it just might work.

He approached the tent, whistling as he walked. Right then he noticed that there was something wrong; there was no guards posted at the back of the tent. Wearily, Neptune slunk around the tent to the other side, but there were no guards their either. Scratching his head, Neptune flung open the tent cover and peered inside. She was not there.

_Breathe in._ he paused, holding his breathe, willing himself not to explode from the anger and frustration that built up inside of him. _Breathe out._ He kept up the even breathing for awhile, trying to keep himself from growing any bigger and ruining hios perfect disguise. He stared back into the empty tent, his mind stuck on one single thought.

She was not there.

_Where could she be?_

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

_Terralyn paced back and forth, back and forth. The sun was setting, time was running out. Venus had promised to be back that night… and she had also said she was 'charged' with taking care of Terralyn. _

"_She's not going to kill me, is she?" Terralyn muttered, her green eyes looking dead and her mouth twisted with worry. She regretted her words against Venus._

Heck, if I was a goddess I wouldn't take that shit,_ she thought, wringing her hands. Actions are often regretted, but there was no way she could go back in time and fix it, so she figured maybe if she apologized…_

_Just then Venus burst through the door._

"_Listen, I'm really so-" and that's when she spotted the two guards who came in after, each grinning like mad and carrying rope in their hands. Terralyn had barely any time to shriek before one of the guards clamped a hand over her mouth._

"_Tsk, tsk. We can not have her screaming can we? It just would not do." And with an evil smile on her face, she drew out a jar and gestured her hands towards it, muttering some words in a language Terralyn did not understand. Terralyn tried to get free, btu as she struggled the guards hold on her just grew tighter; they were all too happy to cause her more pain. _

_The goddess gestured towards Terralyn, muttering some more words, then opened the jar briefly, muttering more words. Then she shut the empty jar and stowed it away in her breast pocket. She looked at the two guards._

"_take your hand off her mouth," she ordered. As soon as her mouth was free Terralyn screamed and screamed as they began to bind her with the rope. Through the panic and the haze of fear, she realized that the tent was eerily silent._

_And she was still screaming._

_She snapped her mouth shut and closed her eyes tightly, swallowing as nausea spread through her body. Venus had stolen her voice, and placed it in a jar. _

_With a final snap of her fingers, the ropes dissolved until they were invisible. The guards picked up the very stiff Terralyn and dragged her outside, hauling her onto the horse. They strapped her onto it, and passed the reigns to Venus, who was on her own horse. _

"_I like you better this way," Venus said cheerfully, whistling to the horse. "Now I don't have to listen to your annoying chatter._

Being bonded with invisible rope is not a very pleasant thing. For starters, you can't see the rope; therefore there is no way to escape. Secondly, it itches _terribly_ and you don't even know where it itches exactly.

Another unpleasant thing was having your voice taken away from you.

By the person you hate most.

Terralyn wanted to scream, shout, yell- something, anything- but her voice was gone. Placed magically in a jar by the one and only slutty Venus.

Speak of the devil, Venus herself was sitting on the horse beside Terralyn, whistling away merrily. She held the reins of the second horse, the one Terralyn was on, and every once in awhile she gave them a tug just to scare Terralyn. Terralyn was thrown rather haphazardly over the horse, like a sack of potatoes, and she could see the ground beneath her, far far down… Not that Terralyn was that scared… well actually she was scared out of her mind, just too proud to say it.

Hey, you would be scared too if you were hundreds on feet off the ground, tied up with invisible rope with no voice and stuck with your arch nemesis.

In reading this, you might ask, "Well, how did this happen?" and then I might answer, "Well, let's take a look…"

Terralyn was so exhausted but she couldn't sleep, due to the fact she was riding on a horse. So with her eyes shut and her stomach clenched, she endured the rest of the ride.

She prayed for him to come, wished so hard that he would just appear out of nowhere and save her.

And she waited.

But he did not come.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Neptune had searched the camp thoroughly. Twice. She was not here. In fact, most people had left to go to battle, so the camp was fairly deserted. He knelt down by a small puddle and dipped his finger in.

"Show me Terralyn." But of course, it didn't work. The magic field surrounding the camp seemed to cloud over any magic he used. "DAMMIT!" He couldn't hold the rage any longer. He shot up in the air, towering over everything, yelling blue murder. When he calmed down enough to stop yelling, he stood there, towering above the whole camp, panting like a madman.

"The deal is this," a voice said from beside his ear. "You fight for us and the girl lives. If not… well there are worse things than death," Neptune looked to the side and saw Jupiter, who was mounted on a flying horse. They stared at each other in silence for a long time.

Finally Neptune's shoulder sagged, defeated, and he slowly shrunk down to normal size. "Fine. But once this battle is over, I'm gone and Terralyn is coming with me."

"And leaving us with the spell for the Trident?"

"Of course."

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors note:** hey all my loverly readers! This story has TWICE as many reviews as my last one and that makes me happy so just keep on reviewing!

Thanks to: Areida Rivers, Bumbledbee, Sweet thoughts, sailorgurl13, Sara, Live Laugh Love1628, could use work, yet so good (not sure if I should take offense to that name or not :P) dreamer, porkypick, FearieatHeart13, sail420247, Hannah Montana and Delicacy of Mind. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

So the question is: dramatic or romantic ending???

-teardrop O


	20. Chapter 20

Through the iron gate, down the twisted path surrounded by evergreen trees and rocks, through the magnificent front door, through the labyrinth of twisting hallways and corridors- all black and grey- through a single brown trapdoor, down a winding staircase, leading into an oblivion of darkness… Down a stone hallway- _where the ghosts howl in the darkness-_ into a small cell barricaded by iron bars…

A girl sat, shivering, head resting on her knees. Her dark hair fell, splashing like ink, across her face and shoulders. She was breathing slowly, evenly, but she was not asleep.

_Someone get me out of here._

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"How exquisite!" Jupiter said, smiling. He and his companion were sitting on top of flying horses, far out of reach of the battle. "I do believe we shall be victorious!"

His companion, however, was not smiling. He was not even listening. His ocean blue eyes stared down at the fight, watching as magic was thrown back and forth, killing any mortal in its wake…

"Shall we go down and help?" It was not a question, but really an order. Without another word, Jupiter swooped down, roaring a feral battle cry. Neptune followed silently behind.

_My heart feels nothing…_

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

_Clack. Clack. Clack. _

"Just to let you know, I'm leaving." Venus said from the door of the cell. Terralyn did not look up, or give any acknowledgement of the other's presence. "I might be back… _If _I remember."

Silence.

"You'll be all alone- no one else is here, you know that, right?"

Silence.

"He's not going to come and get you, so don't even hope for that."

Terralyn visibly stiffened, although she did not raise her head.

"He's forgotten all about you. Besides, why would he choose you when he has me?" Venus sneered at the huddled form. "Oh wait, he _did_ choose me. Do you even know what he did when you weren't around?"

Silence.

"He made love to me," Venus said simply.

Terralyn's shoulders sagged. It took all her effort not to jump up and take a swing at her enemy.

"Bye!" Venus turned on her heal and made her way back up the stairs.

_I wish I could talk,_ Terralyn thought desperately, listening to Venus' steps as they faded away. _I feel so hopeless._

If there was one thing Terralyn hated, it was the feeling of weakness, of not being able to help herself.

Distantly she heard the front door slam shut. It echoed throughout the silent house.

_Oh god._

The second thing Terralyn most hated was loneliness.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

All the blood flying everywhere, it was almost more than he could take.

"Why are we even fighting?" Neptune asked himself, as he cast another spell of crushing water at Mars' army. "It doesn't even make any sense."

But of course, no one was around to answer him. They were too busy killing people.

"This has to stop," Neptune decided, steering his horse towards Jupiter, who was throwing thunderbolts at the other gods.

"I'm leaving now."

"You are not to leave until after the battle." Jupiter spat, not even looking at him. "If you leave now, I will kill your precious girl."

"Take this," Neptune held the necklace with the small Trident on it. He passed it to Jupiter who took it greedily.

"What's the spell?"

Neptune whispered the spell into his ear. When he was done, Jupiter gave a nod and waved him off.

"Go find your girl," was his dismissal.

Neptune turned his horse around and sped off, away from the battle of fear, filth and destruction.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Venus whistled merrily as she sped through the sky, racing towards the battle. Her hair was braided tightly back and her armor shone. Bloodlust ran through her veins and just the thought of killing made her want to squeal with delight. It had been such a long time since the last battle of the gods, and Venus was greatly anticipating this one…

"Stop," a commanding voice said from in front of her.

"Hmm?" she looked up at the figure that was blocking her way. "Why hello there!"

"Where is she?" Neptune asked, his eyes smoldering evilly.

"Who?" Venus tilted her head inquiringly. Then a light of recognition sparked. "Oh, _her._ Well, I'm afraid I can't tell you that."

"You _will_ tell me."

"No I WILL not."

Suddenly he swooped up and held his sword pointed at her, the point resting lightly above her heart.

Venus let out a hearty laugh. "You know that won't kill me."

"Would you like to find out?"

"Not particularly."

"Where is she?"

"I told you, I don't know."

"You lie." The sword dug into her skin, just allowing the tiniest bit of blood to flow down her pail chest.

"Go ahead, stab me," Venus said, smirking. When he didn't do anything, she let out another merry laugh. "I knew you wouldn't have the courage to do it."

Then she swooped out of his range, steering the horse around him, and sped of along her course. "Good bye."

"Goodbye." Neptune said. She would see how true his words were later.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Terralyn sat up and looked around her, wondering how she was going to get out of this mess. She couldn't just sit by and wait to be rescued, especially since a rescue may not even happen…

She stood up slowly, groaning as pain sliced down her stomach and her back. She still ached all over from riding that stupid flying horse.

She rattled the bars uselessly and played with the lock for a few minutes. When that didn't work, she leaned her head against the bars and stared at the rust that was covering them.

..._rust_…

She leaned down, near the bottom of the cell, and wiggled each individual bar. Finally she found one that was sufficiently loose, and leaned all her weight on it. With a groan, the bottom of the bar disconnected from the ground. The rust, probably caused by leaks in the basement walls, had eaten through the bottom of the metal bars completely.

She shoved her weight against the bar furiously, and it budged a few inches. Once more, and it was open enough for her to crawl through, face first.

When she was finally free she made her way up the stairs, through the trap door and found herself in a room.

Shaking her head, Terralyn made her way into the next room, and another, and another…

_I'm lost,_ she thought, sitting down on a bed. Her head hurt from dehydration and her stomach hurt from lack of food (and the awful horse ride.) She was tired, so tired.

_I'll find my way out tomorrow,_ she decided, lying down on the comfortable bed, and she fell into a shallow sleep.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

He made his way into the castle, breaking down the locked front door as he did so. The sound of splintering wood echoed through the silence. Neptune paused outside the door and listened carefully.

No one was there.

"Terralyn?" he called, wandering down the hallway. His voice echoed back to him.

"Terralyn?"

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

His voice had woken her up, shattering her peaceful sleep calling her name…

_Neptune!_ She wanted to scream, but she couldn't- her voice was gone- she ran from room to room, searching for him frantically. She could hear him calling, but couldn't answer. Her throat screamed with pain as her voice tried to work, tried to make the words that her heart was screaming. Finally there was nothing but silence, no more calling, and tears slid down Terralyn's face, falling frantically onto the floor. She threw herself onto the ground and beat her fists repeatedly.

_This ones for Mercury!_ SLAM. _This one's for Mars!_ SLAM. _This one's for Venus! _**SLAM.** _And this one's for me. _SLAM SLAM SLAM **SLAM.**

Then she started to laugh. And laugh and laugh- how ironic it was that he had been in the very castle she was trapped in, and had not been able to find her!

"Ahahahahahahahahahahahaha," Terralyn laughed suddenly, her voice echoing through the room.

A shout of surprise sounded from behind her, and footsteps came running down the hall. A pair of arms encircled her waist and lifted her up, gently setting her on her feet.

"Terralyn?" his voice broke as he flipped her around, his arms pulling her closer and closer until she was pressed against him. She stared back at him wordlessly, wide eyed. He held her for a long time, just staring into her eyes, his own eyes smoldering.

"Neptune," she finally managed to croak out. "Neptune?" she gasped.

Then he kissed her, easing his mouth over her own, and picked her up, carrying her to a bed in the next room.

"I didn't think you would come," she whispered, her eyes still wide with disbelief.

"I'm sorry I've taken so long," he whispered, lying down on top of her, his weight resting on his elbows. He bent his head down and kissed her softly, tenderly. "And I'm going to make it up to you."

"Really?"

"Yes. Starting right now."

Then he kissed her again, this time with more passion, more want, more desire…

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Authors: **AND I'll leave the rest to your imaginations :P

Btw this is not the end quite yet, although it's very close… Because I still haven't explained how and why she got her voice back (and no its not just Disney magic :P)

Thanks to: porkypick, sweet thoughts, ElvishKiwi, Bumbledbee, sail420247, No-Way-Princess, Live Laugh Love 1628, sailorgurl13, Ashlynn Lilacflower, Aurora, Sara, FearieatHeart13, Italiangirlinamessedupworld, Ihaconch, Tigerlilium, Hannah Montana, and Carmel March!

Thanks for reading,

-teardrop o


	21. Chapter 21

O.o.O _flashback_ O.o.O

"Have I missed anything?"

Venus fluttered beside Jupiter, her horse restlessly pawing the air. Jupiter didn't look at her even as he addressed her. "No," he held up the tiny trident and smiled. "But things _are_ about to get interesting."

"Excellent," Venus licked her lips eagerly. "Let's crush them."

Jupiter held up the Trident, whispering a few words in a strange dialect as he did so. The Trident grew bigger and bigger, until it's stem fit perfectly in his hand. The points glittered with dangerous sharpness as Jupiter swung it around his head in the air.

"Wait!" Venus protested. "Shouldn't we protect our men?"

Jupiter gave her a hard glare. "In the grand scheme of things, do you really think a few lousy lives matter?"

"No but-"

"Do _not_ contradict me!"

Once again with the Trident poised in the air, our villain repeated the words Neptune had whispered urgently into his ear, and though they were spoken in a different dialect, I will translate them for you here:

"_I call on the spirits of the great seas,_

_The Wind, The Water and The Earth_

_Who forged this weapon so long ago,_

_I call on them, let them hear me_

_I wish for the power this weapon holds_

_Let it wash through me_

_And let it do my bidding_

_I call on the spirits of the great seas,_

_Let them heed my call."_

The combatants on the ground felt the earth tremor even as Jupiter finished speaking those deadly words, for deadly, dangerous words they were. They fell to the ground as the Wind rose in protest, slamming down on them. The gods, up above on their flying horses, felt nothing.

As Wind and Earth awoke, Water was slowly coming to life, seeping out of cracks in the ground from springs deep beneath the surface. Water spread across the ground, swallowing anything in its way, surging in huge masses and crashing down on any unfortunate men that stepped in its way.

Up in the air, Jupiter was completely oblivious to all this; he was closed into himself, concentrating on the power that was slowly filling him, trickling into him from the Trident. Smiling hugely, he lifted the Trident and pointed it towards the sky. Again, in that strange unknown dialect, he spoke the forbidden words:

"_Let them all die."_

Huge bolts of lightning rained out of the sky, striking the water vigorously. Water, displeased with this treatment, surged up into the sky, searching for the source of the power. Wind was also displeased even as the lightning struck through it, and as a mighty spirit, should it not stop what was disrespecting it so? The Wind raged with the water searching for the magical disturbance. Earth was angry, shuddering under the impact of the lightning, it rose with the water in order to help it.

And as the tower of Earth, Water and Wind roared into the air, rising towards the Trident, Jupiter himself remained unaware. Eyes wide open but seeing nothing, he could only bask in his own power. The tower rose up and up, like a giant hand, reaching up.

Venus' horse had long since bolted, Venus still on its back. She watched helplessly as the tower reached towards Jupiter.

"LOOK OUT!" she screamed, but it was too late. The tower grabbed Jupiter from the air, swallowing him, enveloping him, dragging him down, down, down…

The lightning stopped raging, and Wind calmed down, Earth smoothed itself out and Water trickled back into its underground dwellings, ready for rest.

"JUPITER!" Venus screamed, pulling her panicking horse towards the ground. All around her, soldiers were standing up, brushing themselves off, and staring around in shock. All their weapons had disappeared, but they didn't care; they hardly had the wits left to fight, so shocked were they. Venus jumped off her horse and raced past the soldiers, to the spot where she was sure Jupiter had fallen. The other gods brought their horses to the ground and dismounted.

A Trident lay in the ground, embedded. Venus pulled at it uselessly, for it would not budge. Distraught, Venus looked away from the cursed weapon, eyes searching- there. "JUPITER!" she ran over to the fallen god's side, and kneeling beside him, watched with concerned eyes as he struggled to a sitting position.

"Jupiter, are you alright?"

Jupiter rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"I think so," he said slowly, looking at the circle of gods that now surrounded him. "Only I think- I'm not sure-"

"What? What is it?" Venus fretted, hands hovering an inch away from Jupiter's shoulders.

"Wind, Water and Earth took them away as punishment."

"What? Took what away?"

"Our powers."

The former gods stared at Jupiter in shock.

"We're nothing but mortals now."

O.o.O _end of flashback _O.o.O

"Here we are," Neptune said, setting Terralyn down. "Back to our home."

Terralyn looked at the familiar palace and plastered a smile on her face. _Our home? _she thought, disbelieving. Looking at the huge palace, she could not seem to be able to imagine it as her home. She would always think of it as 'Neptune's palace'.

"What do you say we hold a great feast?" Neptune suggested, a huge smile on his face. Terralyn looked in his sparkling blue eyes, and though all she wanted to do was sleep, she found herself agreeing with him.

The walked together to the castle hand in hand, but as soon as they entered they were attacked by a flurry of servants.

"Your Majesty! Your Majesty!" Pete shouted joyously as the other servants greeted them noisily.

"SILENCE!" Neptune roared. The servants stood quiet, heads bowed. "We are having a feast tonight to celebrate our homecoming," he said. He beckoned one poor maid forward. "Prepare Miss Terralyn properly. I will retire to my rooms until sunset. By then I expect the feast to be ready. Now go to!"

A bewildered Terralyn was transferred over to an equally bewildered maid who took her up the stairs back to her old room. The maid filled the bathtub with warm water and stripped Terralyn, pushing her towards the water. Exhausted, Terralyn got into the tub and let the maid wash her. The maid scrubbed her, dried her, dressed her, and pushed her in front of the mirror.

"You look beautiful, Miss," The maid told her. Terralyn looked at herself in the mirror, and not recognizing herself, she turned away.

"You're late for dinner, Miss. We should hurry,"

Silently Terralyn trailed behind the maid, following her down the winding hallways and staircases.

The party was no fun for Terralyn, who simply sat there by Neptune's side while everyone feasted. Staring down at her food, she played with it quietly, trying to eat some of it. Neptune himself was having a fantastic time, sipping his wine as he chatted with his subjects. Terralyn stayed quietly by his side, a mere shadow even in a beautiful dress.

When the party was lover, Neptune took Terralyn's hand and led her up the stairs, up to his room. Shutting the door softly, he took her hand and kissed it.

"What is wrong, my fair Terralyn?" he asked, eyes concerned. She pulled away and stepped behind the changing screen, stripping down to her petticoat.

"I think I just need some sleep," Terralyn said, stepping away from the screen…. _Why do I feel so empty?_ ….

"Alright," he pulled Terralyn to his bed. "Let's sleep then."

She lay down under the comforters and Neptune climbed in beside her. He pulled her close to him, eyes intent on her face as she frowned.

"Do you not wish to be close to me?"

"I do, it's just-"

"Last night we were close enough," he smiled wickedly.

"Neptune," Terralyn whispered. "Why did you sleep with her?"

Abruptly Neptune grew stiff, pulling away from her slightly. "Who told you that?"

"She did."

"I see." Silence echoed through the room for a moment. "You were gone."

"Huh?" Terralyn sat up quickly. "What are you saying?"

"You were not there. I have needs- desires- that need to be fulfilled, and Venus was there to fulfill them."

"As if you just said that!" Terralyn got out of bed and threw on a robe.

"Where are you going?" Neptune did not sound particularly worried.

"Away from you," Terralyn snapped, turning away. She slammed right into Neptune's chest and almost fell over.

"What have I done wrong?"

"You don't understand," Terralyn spat, staring at his chest. "Sex is supposed to mean something- at least for me it supposed to!"

"I had sex with you," Neptune pointed out.

"You don't understand!" Terralyn said again, louder. "You don't understand how I feel about that!"

"But you just said-"

"No!" Terralyn tried to shove him away, which is just about as useless as talking to a tree stump. "You have to know these things without me having to tell you."

"How can I know that? I'm not a psychic nor in any way a mind reader."

"You just have to!" Terralyn rubbed her face tiredly. "Do you know why you don't understand me?"

"But I do understand you-"

"You don't understand me because you can't even understand yourself!" Terralyn exploded. "How can you understand my feelings if you have none of your own?!"

"But-"

"You don't have emotions, Neptune," Terralyn said coolly, stepping around him. He stood still in shock, trying to process her words. "You have no heart."

She ran out of the room and down the hallway. "Pete!" she yelled, clutching the robe closer to her. "PETE!"

"Yes Miss Terralyn?" Pete's bald head poked out of a nearby room.

"Get someone to pack my bags," she said. "I'm going home."

"What? You can't-"

"I can and I will!" Terralyn yelled as tears ran down her cheek.

"But why-"

"He doesn't love me," she sobbed. "He _can't_ love me…"

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

**Author's-note-that-no-one-ever-reads:** Okay so again this is not the final chapter, lol…. Very sorry if this chapter is too angst-y… oh well now that its down on paper (computer screen…same difference really) it can't be changed… although things will get better, that much I can promise… Man my hands are so frozen! We got 25 cm of snow here… honestly I can't feel my thumb. Maybe I'll go curl up by the fireplace :P

Thanks to: A Flying Pandorama, Hannah Montana, aivee crystal, Carmel March, Captain Burger, Beauty in Truth, Elli Leigh, LaLaFeary, porkypick, Aurora, Live Laugh Love1628, Ihaconch, sweet thoughts, sail420247, Sara, Viva Andromeda, Unlikely Rose, XOMADCRAZYOX, sailorgurl13, FearieatHeart, Italiangurlinamessedupworld (you're my first reviewer for the last chapter, so you get an extra special shout out! THANK YOU SO MUCH! Lol)

Okay so, which would you rather?

a)Happy ending

b)Sad ending

c)Mysterious might be happy, might be sad ending

Anyways, till next time,

-teardrop O


	22. Epilogue

Neptune watched Terralyn vanish over the waves in the boat Pete had provided for her. He watched as she said the incantation, the words that would send her home. He watched as tears coursed down her face. He watched all these things, but nothing registered.

"Bye Terralyn," he whispered, and he knew he should be feeling heartbroken, but only a whisper of pain washed through him.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The boat steered itself, miraculously enough. If Terralyn hadn't felt so tired and sad, she may have even admired the craftsmanship of the mermaid on the front of the boat. She may have also admired the way the oars that stuck out the side of the boat made next to no noise in the water, dipping in silently and coming back out silently yet somehow propelling her quickly forward.

Thankfully she did notice when the boat reached the shore. She slowly stood up and grabbed her bag, then stepped carefully out of the boat. She turned and watched the boat silently pull away from the shore, and then it disappeared into the fog.

It was dark- the only light came from the moon, which was blurred out by the fog. Exhausted, Terralyn dragged her feet up the beach a ways, and then she collapsed onto the sand. She fell asleep before her head even touched the ground.

"Hey?! Are you okay?"

Terralyn blinked sleepily and met the eyes of an older man wearing a sweat suit. It was around then that she realized she was asleep on the beach.

"I'm fine," she said. "Could you tell me where I could find a telephone?"

"Just up the hill a ways there's a small hotel," the man said. "You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine," she repeated. The man nodded curtly and continued his jog down the beach.

Terralyn stood up and made her way up the hill.

O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Terralyn made her way outside and walked down the same beaten trail she had walked a day ago. The hotel manager had let her eat and sleep in the kitchen, which was more than Terralyn had been expecting.

She had called her mom- the house keeper had picked up.

"She's going to the funeral today," the old woman had said, not realizing who was on the other end of the phone. "Her daughter drowned two weeks ago, the poor dear."

After the phone was replaced on the hook, Terralyn thought to herself- _There's nothing left for me here…_

She kicked at the gravel that stood in her path, rolling the uneven pieces along as she walked. Her fingers played lightly across the golden locket that lay across her neck, fingering the edges. She could tell that the locket was ready to be opened- it seemed loose, and she was sure that if she tried to open it, it would not resist.

She trudged down the hill to the waiting ocean. It all looked less sinister now that the sun was out. The waves rolled gently along the sand and Terralyn kicked off her shoes and ran into them. Wet sand stuck to her legs as she stood on the beach, watching the water rush over her feet.

Carefully, she took off the golden necklace and held it up in front of her. She had been planning on doing this for a long time.

Gently, Terralyn popped the necklace open and threw it into the water.

The ocean went perfectly calm for a moment. The waves flattened out completely, and the beach went silent. Then, far off in the distance, a huge wave built up, rushing towards her.

Terralyn watched as the wave grew larger and larger, watching as it rushed faster and faster, and still she did not move. Her feet stayed firmly planted on the ground, shivering in the cool water. Her dark hair wiped around in the wind, for of course the wind had sprung up, and bits of sand stuck to her face. All the while she kept her eyes open, watching the wave come.

She didn't know if this was a wave of anger and hatred, or a wave of love and passion. And she didn't care. She stood there; arms wide open, waiting for it to come.

And maybe he did come- Neptune. Maybe he did, and maybe he didn't. Either way, Terralyn was never heard from ever again.


	23. thanks

O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o.

**Authors Final note**

Hey guys! So I know Neptune's Girl is a fav story here- which I excellent. I had lots of fun making up the plot… I made it up as I went. The characters were somewhat a struggle for me- Terralyn especially. Neptune was pretty easy because he didn't feel anything. But I have to say, Pete was the best character of all :P

A thousand and one thanks to my reviewers-

Fanfiction

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And to my 'silent' supporters: Allemery, Anna Ierse, DancingCavalier, MertleYuts, Turwen, bookgrl, dogsrock3, hot-chick102693, jessicam242, julissa, and kolrega.

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Thanks to all my non reviewing readers: Alsles, GreenEyedGrimKitty, I'm the Evil Twin, Number 1 Black Sheep, Patricia Jaurequi, Raven of Ice, Rogue-writer-16, crystalcleardestiny, firerystar12, greyandblack, hecate-dark-magic, j.y.n.x.4.1.2., pinkfirefly, polofreak1689, qttrx, shiningstar162, springfiry, sweetest summer, and sweetesthello.

Thanks to everyone! Love you guys!

-teardrop456 O

O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o. O.o.O.o


	24. A message from Teardrop

Hey guys

**Hey guys! This isn't an other chapter, unfortunately, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I've started a new story, Ghost. Not the most original title, I know. But here's a preview, just in case you wanted to check it out:**

**GHOST**

"Emily?"

I glanced up at the person who was calling me. Jeff met my eyes as he made his way towards our table.

Then I watched- I watched as his friendly gaze took in Rob's frame. His face grew darker. And darker. I swear I saw his eyes change color on the spot, from soft brown to black.

I squinted at him, trying to see if it was a trick of the light. I couldn't tell.

But something about the way he was walking- _stalking-_ towards our table, it seemed so, well, _hostile._

"Jeff?" I asked uncertainly.

"Emily, who is this _boy?_" he spat. I stared at him, shocked for a few seconds.

"Jeff, this is Rob. Remember? I asked him out." I looked over at my best friend, who was standing right beside me now, completely still. "Jeff, what's wrong?"

Jeff started to shake; his hands were clenched in tight fists. His eyes were trained on Rob, his mouth pressed into a thin line. Rob stared at him, alarmed.

"Hey man, you okay?" Rob asked.

Without a word, Jeff punched Rob in the face.

I stared, mouth open, as Rob toppled onto the floor, clutching his bleeding nose.

Jeff looked mad, ready to pounce on him. "Jeff! What did you do?!"

Jeff turned his head slowly towards me, a frightening smile on his face. "I punched him."

Well no shit, Sherlock.

I ran over to Rob, kneeling beside him. "Rob? Are you okay?"

"Jesus Christ," Rob swore. He glared up at Jeff. "Geez man, I didn't know she was your girlfriend!"

"Keep your hands off of my girl," Jeff hissed. "Or I'll kill you."

I stared at Jeff for a minute, a look of pure disgust on my face. "Jeff, what are you talking about?! I'm not your girlfriend!"

Jeff swung his head towards me and snarled, dark eyes boring into mine. I leaned back a bit, trying to get away from him. His strange behavior was scaring me.

By now we'd attracted the attention of the whole café. The owner, Mark, made his way over.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." he said, with a very unfriendly look on his face. "And don't come back."

I grabbed Rob's arm, fully intent on helping him up, but he shook me off. "Forget it Emily. I'm not dating you if you're with him."

"But I'm not dating him!" I stared at Rob, ignoring the pair of black eyes that were shooting daggers into my back. I wasn't sure what was up with Jeff, but I wasn't going to look at him until he stopped being stupid.

Rob gave me a disbelieving look, then got up and left. I stood up slowly, only to find a pair of arms wrapped around me from behind.

"I've missed you so much," Jeff murmured into my hair. I fought out of his grasp and pushed him away.

"What the fuck if your problem?!" I hissed. "That was my first date since… you know… and you just ruined it!"

I stormed out of the café and into the now empty street. Rob had taken off, leaving me with no ride home. I cursed him silently; although he had a perfect right to leave, I was still pissed.

"Come on, baby, don't be like that," Jeff had wrapped his arms around me again. "Haven't you missed me?"

"I saw you just yesterday!" I snapped. "Get off of me, Jeff. Or so help me, I'll kick you were the sun don't shine."

But he wouldn't let go. In fact, his grip became stronger. So strong that I could hardly breathe.

"I'm never letting you go." He told me, murmuring into my hair. "I love you too much."

I froze on the spot. "Wh- Wha?"

"I know I look different," Jeff purred in my ear. "But can't you sense it? Can't you sense who I am?"

"Huh?" I struggled to pull away. Jeff was acting too weird. "Jeff stop! Let go!"

His grip around me became painful.

"Don't you remember me, love?" he flipped me around and kissed me right on the lips; a chaste kiss, but it still scared me. My best friend was kissing me. This was _so_ wrong.

"Don't you remember me?" his voice was softer now. His black eyes looked into mine.

"Emily, my beautiful Emily," he sighed. "It's me, Patrick. _Your_ Pat."

My eyes widened, and I felt myself begin to tremble.

**And here's my other story, which you guys might like… it's also a romance/supernatural/horror**

**Here's a preview:**

**SILEN NIGHT**

I didn't see mystery guy until the following night. At first I argued with myself, thinking that I wouldn't visit his house at all. But it's my duty, as a Silen, to visit every single house on my rounds and make sure people are getting to sleep. It wasn't just an obligation, it was almost a moral. I figured I could just pop in, listen to his thoughts, make sure he was going to sleep, then pop back home. So, I save his house for one of the very last ones.

I floated silently to his window sill and crouched on it, peeking in. Everything was dark, and silent. I stepped into the room and looked around nervously.

Suddenly I was trapped in his grip, pressed against the wall. I let out a choked gasp and began to struggle, but he was too strong. When struggling frantically didn't work, I decided to play it cool. Besides, he couldn't really do anything… right?

"What are you doing?" I asked with a bored expression on my face.

"What are you, exactly?" he asked, holding me tightly, keeping my arms pinned to my sides. "How do you keep appearing like that?"

"I have the right to remain silent. Anything I say can and will be used against me in the court of law-"

He shook me forcefully. "This is serious! What are you, a witch? A demon?"

"No and no," I said, rolling my eyes. This guy was really asking for a huge dose of knock-out power. And I would give it to him, as soon as I got my hands free. "You're really starting to annoy me, mister. So if you would let go, please-"

"Are you a vampire? A fairy? An angel?" he asked, interrupting me once again.

"Better, but no," I said. I took I deep breathe. "Now let me go. I'm counting to three. One."

"No, not a vampire either, or a werewolf. You would have attacked me by now. And you don't have any claws, fangs or fur." He stared into my eyes, his chocolate brown ones curious and searching.

This guy was really pissing me off. How come he could see me, anyways? No _normal _humans can see me.

"Two."

"You must be a fairy, or an angel," he concluded. He looked me up and down. "You're certainly pretty enough."

Ugh. Mom was right. Men are all the same, especially human men.

"Three." I closed my eyes and felt myself dissolve into invisible bits of sand. I glanced at his bewildered face, and sped off into the night, laughing. Of course I wasn't an angel- and certainly not a fairy! I paused above his house, staring down at his bedroom window. I wondered, vaguely, if he would laugh if I told him what a truly was- a modern day Sandman. Then I caught the echo of his thoughts in the wind as I whisked away.

"_Angel_," his mind whispered to me, making me shiver. I could feel his determination strike through the air. He would not rest until he had found me, of that I was sure.

**The reason I put this up is to attract more readers… For some reason Neptune's girl has the most reviewers and hits…. More than 10 000 hits!! So I'd appreciate it if you guys could read my other stories and tell me what I'm doing wrong, because I just can't figure it out!**

**Thanks so much guys! I love you all!**

**-teardrop**


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